Hitochigae: Mistaken Identity
by Moghedian
Summary: Discontinued. Being Re-writ under the name "Mistaken Identity: Take Two"
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

* * *

_Great._ That was the thought of a young girl who was currently grinding her teeth against the dirty and rather gross tasting rag that had been tied around her head. Her eyebrows were lowered and she was glaring at the ground as it slowly came closer and moved farther away. Looking at the rather large man who had a rather tight grip around her waist, the girl tried to sneer.

The sudden lurching to a stop of The Giant, as the girl dubbed him, made his shoulder press into her stomach sharply. The girl groaned loudly, but the gag muffled it. The Giant took a quick look back at the girl, and went back to observing the area. Leaning down, he deposited her on the tree branch that was creaking under his weight.

Struggling in the tight bonds that kept her from moving much more than a funny looking wiggle, she soon gave up, only to have the gigantic man lean down to eye level, or as close as he could get.

"Do you know why I took you?" The Giant said, his voice deep and low. The girl tried to talk, but it was muffled by the gag. The man shook his head, beads of sweat flung from his hair onto the girls face, making her groan in disgust.

"Don't try to talk. Just nod your head." The girl tried to purse her lips, but it looked ridiculous with the gag. Slowly shaking her head, she wrinkled her nose. A habit that she got from observing her mother, who was probably tearing down half the forest looking for her. Along with her father and her older brother, the girl's family made a nearly unstoppable team. Not that they often teamed up. Her father was usually too busy with work to even spend quality time with her anyway. Her mother usually accompanied her father, and her brother was too busy looking after his own family. In fact, the one she was missing the most, was her nerdy friend, Kimihiro, Hiro for short. He went to civilian school, but they had often walked home together, as the Academy was a few blocks away. He was taller than her, gangly, and had really thick glasses.

"Hey, girl. I asked you a question." The girl's eyes shone with unshed tears as she snapped back to reality. The Giant was looking angry now, and the girl was starting to get frightened of him. Even if she were free, she didn't think that she could even hurt him, he was that big. Mumbling into the gag, the Giant took a breath and said,

"I said, do you know how many are following us?" The girl shook her head. The giant sighed and without so much as a warning, threw the girl up onto his shoulder.

The constant motion of going up and down as The Giant flew across the tree tops to only god knows where, was starting to make the girl drowsy and a little sick. Squirming, The Giant responded by pinched her thigh. The girl tired to shout, and The Giant just laughed. The girl swung her head around and winced when a few strands of her red hair hit her in the eye. Blinking and moaning seemed to make the pain go away faster, but the girl scowled when she thought she felt The Giant chuckle.

Swearing through the gag, she felt The Giant tense up. For the second time in the hour of shoulder travel, the girl was jabbed in the stomach with the large man's shoulder as he came to an abrupt halt. Looking around quickly, as if trying to see in all different directions at once. The seriousness of The Giant was making the girl worried.

Feeling about in her chakra reserves, she realized how little she had left. She was surprised that she was even still conscious. A rustle in a tree about 50 feet away from The Giant and his captive caught both of their attention. Both swung their heads in its direction, but before the girl saw anything, she felt a tremendous amount of pain and her vision went black.

* * *

"She's the one? Are you sure? She's just a little girl." A boy's voice said. The girl's hearing came back before anything else, so she sat and listened into the conversation.

"I'm sure. She matches the description." A second voice, lower pitched, was heard. The girl heard a few steps and the rustle of fabric.

"Mmmm...She's a little short. I thought she would have been taller." The girl seethed on the inside. Despite still being groggy, she pushed her body forward as much as she could and cracked her skull against the man that, as she had thought, was kneeling in front of her.

"Aah, kuso! That fucking hurt!" The girl him heard yell. She herself was trying to hug the floor as cracking her skull against that man's not only seemed to split her brain in two, but made the wound she received on The Giant's shoulder throb. Groaning, the girl realized that she didn't have a gag anymore and sighed in relief. Not that it lasted long. While still trying to gather her wits, she vaguely heard the man who's skull she hit stand up.

"Stupid girl! That was a stupid move." The girl tried to roll over, but was intercepted by the man's foot. The girl grunted as he kicked her in the gut sharply. He kicked again, but the girl heard the other person yell at him to stop. The girl winced, waiting for the third kick to reach her, she was mildly surprised to see that it didn't. Opening her eyes, the colours slowed down enough for her to make out a shorter figure holding out his arm and stopping the taller, darker man's foot. All the girl could see was white around the boy.

"Stop. She's important. You injure her permanently, and I kill you." The girl heard the taller man cuss angrily before scoffing and walking away. Shakily rubbing her eyes, the girl tried to calm the pounding in her head. When a hand touched her shoulder, she flinched so hard that it hurt her back.

"S-ttt-op...hhh...Who?" The girl cursed herself for letting a mere head injury impair her speaking.

"Shh. You're forehead is bleeding. Let me fix it up." The girl tried to respond, but her tongue tied up again, so she just inclined her head. Opening her eyes, it took a few seconds before she could make out anything more than swimming colours, but by the time the man had gently treated both the skull wound, and the gash from the original knockout, the girl could see nearly clear again. Looking up at her...saviour? She still wasn't too sure.

"Who...are you?" She finally got out. The person, she now identified as a boy her age, maybe a little bit older with a mop of stark white hair and shocking red eyes, turned his head. He remained silent as he was mashing something in front of him, out of the girl's view. When the girl asked again, she faltered less, and her words were louder.

The boy turned and held out a crudely made spoon that had a green paste on it. The girl took a closer look and saw that it was a paste made of leaves and other herbs. Wrinkling her nose, she turned her head and rose her arms as much as they would let her.

"It will numb the pain. It's not poison." The girl's lip twitched before she tried to snatch the spoon from the white haired boy's hands. Shoving it in her mouth, she nearly gagged at its taste, but managed to get it down.

Handing the spoon back, she murmured a small thanks and the boy smiled.

"Who are you? No avoiding the question this time." The boy took the spoon and said,

"Byakko." The girl nodded and Byakko smiled.

"I'm...Umm...ahh...wh--what did y-you doo...?" The girl tried to ask as she suddenly felt drowsy. Still smiling, Byakko said,

"Just to make you sleep. Not only will it help the pain and speed healing, but it will keep you quiet until we can take you to our boss. You have something very valuable that we want." The girl's eyes tried to widen as she saw a flash of silver around the boy's belt. It was a hiteate from Iwagakure. The girl tried to stutter out a few more words, but the herb was starting to take control. The last thing she saw was the boy and his red eyes. He said,

"Have a nice sleep, Hyuuga Chihiro." The girl felt a surge of confusion run through her chest, but sleep quickly took over.

End.

* * *

Start!

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Looking over her shoulder, Haneko sighed at the pitifully small pile of weeds on the ground, and looking forward, she sighed at the large amount of weeds yet to be picked.

"Stupid D missions… We're chuunin! This is genin material!" Haneko heard muttered to her left. Glancing over, she saw her taller team mate rip random weeds out.

"Taichi-kun! You're pulling the herbs out too! Stop!" Haneko said, surprised that Taichi showed frustration. He was usually calm and calculating. The heat must be getting to him.

Taichi stood up and sighed, his chuunin vest was laying on the ground in a crumpled heap, and his bare upper half was shining with sweat. Haneko stood up as well and wiped the sweat off her forehead in an attempt to hide the small blush that graced her cheeks.

It was the middle of the summer and much too hot to be picking weeds. Looking over to her right, she saw her last team mate still avidly picking the weeds. His pile was nearly three times the size of Taichi and Haneko's combined. He had his hiteate around his forehead to keep his burgundy hair and sweat out of his eyes. Looking up at Haneko, he smiled and stopped picking weeds. Standing up, he raised his hand and gave Haneko a gigantic thumbs up, all while smiling brightly. Haneko sweat dropped and Taichi grimaced.

"Don't give up! Let the power of youth lead you down the path of right! Hokage-sama gave us an important mission to complete in our genin-chan's absence!" Haneko put her face in her hands.

"Ho-kun..." Taichi didn't say anything, but bent over and started to pick weeds. _Why couldn't I have been stuck on team 12?_ Haneko thought.

The tracking based team the year Haneko graduated year was team 12. Haneko grew up being trained for that team, but the sand girl took it all away from her. Haneko herself owned a pair of powerful eyes. She could see miles in any direction, and in all directions at once for almost 200 metres. All that sand wench could do was see in the dark, or so she had heard.

It was another drudging hour before they finished picking the weeds. The team of three were ambushed by their sensei about half way back to the Hokage Tower.

"Fei-sensei!" Ho yelled out.

"Ho!" The tall, black haired, blue eyed man yelled back.

"Fei-sensei! I have a query!" Ho shouted, making Haneko wince.

"Yes, my youthful student! Anything I can do to ensure that you are full of the flame of youth!" Taichi sighed.

"May we visit Lee-sensei after this mission? I have something I wish to ask him!" Fei's eyes sparkled at the mention of his Jounin Sensei. Lee was a miracle case. During the last great shinobi war, Lee was badly injured, his spine was broken in several places and his arms were fractured into practically dust, but the medical expertise of the Godaime and the Medical Sennin, Uchiha Sakura, saved him. All that was left of his heinous injury was a terrible scar that extends from his hip, all the around his back, and up to his cheek. He still limped slightly when he walked, but was a very capable fighter.

"YES HO-KUN! WE WILL VISIT LEE-SENSEI!" Fei shouted, pumping his three fingered fist into the air.

"Fei-sensei, please. We need to report to the Hokage so that we can go home. It's too hot to do another mission." Haneko said, nearly whining.

"What has happened to my student's Flame of Youth?!" Fei shouted. Ho's black eyes sparkled with unspoken glee, and Taichi strained to remain calm.

"I left it at home. It was melting from the heat. Let's just go." Haneko said in a very flat tone. Fei gave a hearty laugh and strutted the rest of the way to the tower, followed closely by a green spandex-clad student. Haneko looked at Taichi, who in turned rolled his eyes, before sighing and unzipped the rest of her lavender belly top jacket, revealing a standard cut-off fishnet tank top.

* * *

"Well, I suppose that solves our mission problem. Hokage-sama wasn't even there." Taichi said, and snorted. Haneko giggled and followed her team mate down the spiralled stairs, nearly running into a tall pink haired man. The man snorted at Haneko and ruffled her hair before jogging up the stairs.

"Ahh! Haneko-chan! If you see Sara-chan, can you tell her I'm here? Also, I saw your mother…she told me to tell you that you have to meet with your Aunt."

"Who was that?" Taichi asked.

"Err…Kinda like my cousin, but not by blood. Our parent's are teammates. He used to baby-sit me when Nii-san was too busy." Taichi nodded and said,

"What kinda meeting? What for?"

"Hmm? I'm the clan heir, remember? I have to learn all this stuff from Oba-sama." Taichi grinned.

"Is it boring?" Haneko looked at Taichi.

"...Why are you so interested? Usually you don't say more than ten words a day." Taichi grunted and looked to the side, His hand fiddling with a segmented piece of his Bo staff that was strapped to his belt.

"Hmm? Not gonna tell me, Taichi-kun?" Haneko said in a teasing voice. Taichi was about to answer, when all of a sudden he was bowled over by a rather tall girl with short black hair. Haneko let out a squeak as she helped the girl off of Taichi.

"Ahh! Sara-ne-chan!" The girl looked up; her eyes flashed red for a brief second before turning back to the emerald green Haneko was used to seeing. Sara's eyes lit up but before she could say anything, another boy with blonde hair tied in a ponytail came jogging up.

"Gaahh...Mendokuse...Sara-chan, you made me ruuunnn..." The boy whined.

"Che...you're just slow." Sara said. Haneko looked at the boy, and searched her memory for his name.

"Ah...T-Tayoumaru-san?" She said in a tone that suggested she was asking his name. The blonde nodded.

"Sorry about that, kid... I wasn't looking. Haneko-chan? Have you seen Ni-chan?" Sara said as she got off of Taichi.

"Actually yes, he's in the Hokage tower!" Sara nodded slowly.

"Is Tou-chan there?" Sara asked, brushing a renegade strand of black hair out of her eyes.

"Ah...Ano, I don't know? I didn't see him." Sara nodded again and looked at Tayoumaru.

"You're leaving tomorrow to go stay in Suna, right?" The blonde nodded. "Let's go find Ni-chan then, and quickly, he can tell us where that stupid scroll is." Tayoumaru sighed when Sara suddenly took off running. Giving a nod to Haneko, and the now dusty Taichi, he jogged off behind his friend.

"So, gonna answer me? Why are you so interested in my clan affairs?" Taichi just grunted and didn't say anything for the rest of the trip. When they reached the entrance to her large compound Haneko gave her goodbyes to Taichi and stepped as quickly and lightly as possible down the wooden halls.

"Haneko-sama, you have a message." Haneko squeaked as a servant popped out from nowhere. A bandage was wrapped around her forehead, a constant reminder of the past.

"H-hai...arigatou..." The servant nodded and handed Haneko a small letter. Unfolding it, it read,

_Hane-chan, meet me on top of Yondaime's head at 4! I have something cool to show you!  
_

_Kimihiro_

"Hiro-kun..." Haneko smiled and tucked the letter into one of the pouches that hung around her wide belt.

"Haneko-chan? Is that you? Come in here please." The girl's face brightened up and she slid the paper door open slowly and carefully.

"Kaa-chan! How was your day?" Haneko's mother sat at the back of the room trimming a small bonsai tree.

"It was fine. How was yours? I heard you had a mission today." Haneko smiled, and said,

"Today was our third mission as chuunin! But we picked weeds. It was boring. I want to get something more exciting!" Haneko's mother laughed. The girl always loved her laugh; it reminded her of all the good childhood memories.

"Kaa-chan," Haneko said, sliding down to a kneeled position, "can you tell another story of how you and Tou-chan's adventures?" Haneko's mother laughed again and raised her finger like she did every time she started a story.

"Well, your Father and I-" Her sentence was cut off by a young woman of the branch family as she threw the paper door open.

"Hinata-sama! Come quickly, It's Hanabi-sama!" Hinata stood up gracefully and ran full speed out of the small room. Haneko scrambled up behind her and tried to keep pace.

Reaching the small courtyard that the Hyuuga's often used for training, Haneko saw a small cluster of dark haired Hyuuga's. Hinata ran towards the cluster, and pushed an old man, an elder, Haneko quickly thought, out of the way. The elder held a look of disdain for the woman, but Haneko caught a small sneer, and her heart fluttered.

_What would he be sneering about?_

"Hanabi! Hanabi! Answer me!" Haneko heard her mother yell. Haneko quickly pushed through the group and saw that Hinata was bent over her Aunt, frantically calling her name while going through hand seals. Hinata's hands lit up in green fire and Haneko unconsciously leaned in forward. She had interest in medical ninjutsus, but had no talent herself.

Hinata's fiery hand touched Hanabi's chest, and Hanabi jerked sharply, spraying blood across Haneko and the young woman beside her's face. The woman eeped, but Haneko said nothing. Instead she looked for the wound. There, on her chest, right under Hinata's hand was a spot on her kimono where dark was spreading rapidly.

"Hanabi! Hanabi-chan, answer me!" Hinata yelled again, this time slapping her younger sister's face. Hanabi's white eyes jerked open and her mouth flapped for a few seconds before shutting tightly again.

Haneko watched with a fascinated horror as her Aunt would lay still for a few moments, before jerking and twitching, and then go back to laying still. The sweat that decorated Hinata's face was an indication to the young heir that something was seriously wrong.

"What are you all doing? Go get help! Go get Sakura-san! I don't care if she is in a meeting, just get her!" Hinata yelled at all of the onlookers. Most of them scurried away, a few towards the gates presumably to fetch Sakura. Only Haneko and the woman who was splattered with blood remained. Haneko glanced at the woman and noted that she looked slightly faint.

"Hanabi...HANABI!!" Hinata screamed. Haneko knelt down on the other side of her aunt and observed the shallowness of her breathing.

"Is...Is Oba-sama going to be alright...? Kaa-chan?" Hinata looked up and her daughter flinched at the tears that were streaming down her face.

"Haneko-chan..." Haneko's pale eyes widened and she looked down at the clan leader. Something was off, and she wasn't able to pin it down.

"H-Haneko...g-go...go get the Hokage...T-tell, H...H-Hanabi..." Haneko looked down at Hanabi again and nearly burst into tears.

She wasn't breathing.

Hinata withdrew her hands slowly, the green fire fading. Her face was a mess of tears and whatever makeup she had worn today.

"Haneko-chan...She...sh-she's dead. She w-was imp-paled... I w-will...f-fill in lat-er..." Haneko sat back, but froze up. She watched as her mother slowly wrapped Hanabi in her arms and sobbed softly.

"Go!" Hinata snapped. Haneko shook her head and stood up, not bother to wipe the unwanted tears.

Kimihiro was calmly walking towards the Hokage monument when he was seemingly ambushed by a slight girl. The girl cried out when she hit the ground, but instead of getting up, she seemed to give up running, and sat on the ground and cried.

"H-Hane-chan?" The girl stopped crying and looked at the person she had run into. Lunging forward into Hiro's arms, the girl started to cry harder.

"Hi-Hiro-k-kun!!!! Ob-ba-sama!! C-come to H-Hokage!" Haneko managed to get out. Hiro nodded and helped the poor girl up. The two started at quite a fast pace for a civilian and reached the tower in less than ten minutes. Winding their way up the twisted stairs outside the Hokage tower, Haneko rushed down the hall to the large office doors.

Without even knocking, she burst through the doors and yelled,

"Tou-chan!!!" The room was silent, and Hiro, who had just caught up, saw that Haneko had interrupted Gaara, who Hiro recognized instantly, and a tall blonde woman behind him, who he was fairly sure was Gaara's elder sister. Hiro may not have been a shinobi, but he liked to know a lot of them. Powerful friends, shinobi were.

"Haneko-chan...I'm in the middle of a meeting!" Haneko's father, a tall man with a scarred face and unruly blonde haired said, motioning at Gaara. Hiro noticed that they both wore ceremonial robes. Gaara raised his hand and said,

"Naruto, she seems very distressed, don't mind me." Naruto clicked his tongue and said,

"If this is about finding Sakura-chan so she can help Hanabi, then Suzuki-san should be there already." Haneko just dropped to her knees and cried harder.

"Che, Naruto-kun...watch your tone! What's wrong, Hane-chan..." Haneko looked up at Temari, who was holding her shoulders and wiped away her tears. Taking a deep breath she said,

"Oba-sama...She...Uuuuu, in K-ka-chan's arms..." Temari hugged the mess of a girl tightly, and Naruto just sat down, his head in his hands.

"How?" Was all he said. Gaara looked at the girl with concern.

"K-Ka-chan...sh-she said, Imp-paled...Uuuuu...she said sh-she would f-fill...Uuuuu...you in later, Uuuuu..." Temari hugged the red haired girl and Haneko started to cry harder.

"Gaara...can we finish this later?" Gaara nodded.

"Actually, I was planning on visiting your compound tonight anyway, if there is anything I can do to help? Maybe transport the body safely?" The red haired Kazekage said quietly. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and nodded slowly.

The blonde looked at his daughter and sighed. Moving over to Temari, he bent over and picked the girl up as if she weighed nothing. The wild haired girl hugged her father around his neck tightly and continued to cry as he carried her bridal style out of the room, followed by Gaara, Temari, and finally an unnoticed Hiro.

Drawing a few stares as Naruto made his way to the Hyuuga compound at a normal pace. He didn't have to look very hard for Hinata as she was still in the middle of the courtyard crying over the body of her younger sister.

"Kimihiro-san..." Naruto said. Hiro jumped and made his way up to the Hokage. "Can you take Haneko-chan to a quiet place for a few hours? Stay there until I come find you." Hiro nodded in awe as the leader of his entire village remembered his name, and trusted him with his daughter none the less! Naruto put Haneko down, and Hiro led her by her arms towards the Hokage monument.

It took Hiro a good 40 minutes to get the still hiccupping Hyuuga to calm down, and another half hour to get her to the top of Yondaime's head. The sun had set and Haneko started to shiver. Sitting down on top of the head of Konohagakure's greatest leader, the girl frantically wished that she wore more than a tight black body suit.

"Douzo. You look cold." Haneko looked up and saw that her best friend was offering her a thick blanket from his backpack. Smiling, Haneko took the blanket and said,

"A-arigato...Hiro, you're a good friend." Hiro laughed and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I know how you feel. Remember last week, when I didn't show up at our meeting spot? It was because my friend Ando-kun was killed in a fight with the Otou-nin. Haneko gasped.

"Oh no! Wasn't Ando-san the tall skinny one with orange hair? Chuunin, right?" Hiro smiled and nodded.

"I've been bringing him those mini paper lanterns we can buy at Tsuki's, and I light a new one up each morning. I see that old man, Uhn...Kakashi-san I think? He's there really early everyday. He's kinda quiet. He told me he mourns many people on the list, and he even said that Yondaime-sama was his sensei some 40 odd years ago."

"Ohh? Kakashi-sama? He was my Tou-chan's Jounin sensei, and Minato-jii-sama's student... He's always late for everything."

"You're dad's sensei? That means that he was the Uchiha-sama's teacher as well? Isn't Sakura-sama a little young to have been their team mate?" Haneko gave Hiro a sly smile.

"Don't tell anyone, but Sakura-oba has been slowing her age down with genjutsu…Sara-ne-chan told me that Tsunade-baa-sama did it too, which inspired Sakura-oba…I think that's what that weird diamond on her forehead is for…"

"Woah! That's crazy!" Hiro exclaimed. The wonders of what chakra could do were beyond him. Haneko had taught him the basics of control, like he could form small suiton jutsu's, just tiny little ones, but none of any other element. He could also walk up walls if he concentrated really hard. He didn't have enough control to walk on water, but he didn't really care any way, water walking and wall climbing were for shinobi. He was hoping to take over his mother's shop one day.

A few hours had passed, when Hiro heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning his head carefully, as not to disturb Haneko, who was sleeping on his shoulder, he looked back and was promptly hit in the face.

* * *

"Kimihiro-san, you're awake!" Hiro blinked slowly, his eyes adjusting to the brightness the room. His forehead was throbbing with pain. Putting his hand to his forehead, he found it wrapped with gauze.

Sitting up quickly, he nearly threw up.

"Calm down, you have a nasty concussion." Hiro looked at the cool voice coming from his left. A tall man with onyx eyes and dark pink hair was staring at him.

"You...You're U-Uchiha-san?" Osshi nodded and said, with a small, lady-killing grin,

"Osshimakuru at your service. Now, you've taken quite the hit to the head, I think that you should-"  
"Hane-chan! What about her?!" Osshi stopped and frowned.

"Naruto-oyaji, Oba-sama, and Kouden are out looking for her, along with the Hokage's personal ANBU squad. She was abducted after you were knocked out. You are a very lucky boy, a few centimetres to the right, and you would have been dead." Hiro's breathing quickened up as he felt a panic attack coming on.

"She-she...I couldn't do anything! Why aren't you out there?" Osshi leaned forward; his black eyes flashed red for a few seconds before he said, in a voice so cold that it didn't seem real,

"Because I'm making sure you stay alive, so that Haneko-chan doesn't skin me alive when she gets back." Hiro shrunk back and shivered. The Uchiha's were not someone you messed around with.

* * *

End Chapter 1 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Sticking the last piece of medical tape on the forehead of the girl who lay in front of him, Byakko sat back and admired his work. After the girl had been successfully knocked out, the white haired boy had taken to cleaning her wound.

He was mildly surprised to see the previous wound he had inflicted upon her to be already healing to a degree. A scuffle drew Byakko's attention to the well concealed opening of the cave hideout he was in.

"Are you done yet? We have to get going." Yosuke grumbled. Byakko frowned.

"…Yea. I'll carry her though…You'd just damage her even more. You're lucky she only got bruises from your little stunt." Yosuke grumbled.

Byakko bent down and awkwardly picked the younger girl up, carefully setting her on his back, before leaving the hideout, following Yosuke.

Tanaka Yosuke, the 5th child of the most prominent Yakuza clan of a small little village that nobody cared about kicked a small rock with his geta sandal, and ducked under the entrance. Standing at just over 6 feet, the 20-something hired bodyguard fingered his large baggy jacket, which was barely more than forest coloured patches.

Yosuke watched the white haired boy exit the hideout, and felt a pang of anger as Byakko barely tilted his head so it wouldn't hit the entry way. The tall dark haired man absolutely detested this kid, and was furious that his boss had hired him out to protect the brat. So far the kid had been nothing but quiet and commanding, something that ticked him off to no end.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Yosuke grunted again in frustration. He wanted to go home. He missed his more-than girlfriend, Fukakusa Naomi. She was currently in their village taking care of Yosuke's three younger siblings, as far as he knew.

Naomi was a ninja, specializing in medical ninjutsu and using wire that she threaded with a sharp shock of her lightening based chakra. Combined with a razor sharp intuition and excellent leader skills, she more than made up for her severe weakness in taijutsu.

Sighing, Yosuke noticed that Byakko was looking at him oddly. Throwing the kid a glare, Byakko merely raised his brow and turned back to lead.

* * *

The first thing that came back to her was her hearing. Two men, two voices she vaguely recognized as the ones from earlier, were arguing. She couldn't make heads or tails of the conversation, but she realized that she was moving as every motion was jabbing a sharp shoulder into her stomach.

Twitching, she moaned quietly. Motion stopped and she felt herself being lowered carefully to the ground. When she gathered enough strength to open her eyes, she had to blink a few times to get rid of the blurriness. Looking up at her captors, she garbled out,

"Wuh…W-where…?" The boy with the white hair held her gaze. His eyes were gentle and made her feel, if only a little, at ease. The boy brushed her hair out of her eyes and said,

"You heal fast. You should have been out of it for another 6 hours, at least. How is your head feeling, Chihiro-san?" The girl shook her head slightly.

"N-no… N-not Ch-chi-chan… Hane-Haneko…" The boy paused his soothing stroking. Looking back at the man behind her, he said something she couldn't make out. The older, taller man, the one Haneko was sure had kicked her, froze as well, his hand half way to brushing hair out of his eyes. The boy with hair like snow turned back to her and said in a slow and comfortable tone,

"Haneko you say? Are you sure, absolutely sure that your name isn't Chihiro?" Haneko nodded clumsily, bringing her hands to her head.

"C-can…water? Please?" Pulling a canteen from his waist, he tipped it into the girl's mouth. Haneko felt like sighing, but drank as quickly as she could. The water was ice cold and awakened some more of her senses. Looking up she said with more strength,

"Chihiro is my 3rd cousin. My mother's cousin's granddaughter… Where are we? And who are you?" The boy hesitated.

"That idiot made a mistake. Look, Haneko-chan--"

"Don't call me that! I'm 15!" the boy studied her and shook his head.

"Well in any case, we were trying to kidnap your cousin, a fellow branch member. So no offence was intended to you, but I cannot just let you go. You'll just have to do." Haneko paled.

"B-but…You…You can't do this! Tou-san will kill you! He's the Hokage! I-I'm the heiress! Ka-chan will kill you too!" Haneko shouted, struggling against her bonds. The white haired boy swore loudly, and the taller man let out a laugh.

"What have I gotten myself into…?" The boy said before bringing his fist down onto Haneko, delivering a world of black to the already pained girl.

* * *

A tall blonde with unruly hair and a faded scar across his face gritted his teeth. He was soaking wet, cold and miserable. He would give nearly anything to be at home cuddling with his wife, or playing with his children.

Tightening his fist as he landed on another branch, he swore to kill whoever had laid a hand on his sister. Using his kekkei genkai, he spotted his father a few metres ahead and quickly caught up.

"See anything, Kouden?" Kouden shook his head and deactivated his Byakugan. Naruto gritted his teeth and his eyes flashed red.

"Where's Ka-chan?" Kouden shouted over claps of thunder. Naruto shook his head and said,

She was too distraught to do this. First Hanabi, now Hane-chan. I had Sakura-chan knock her out before anyone told her about Hane-chan. It would do her some good to rest." Kouden nodded. Sasami had wanted to help as well, but Kouden had adamantly refused. She had just gotten over a difficult birth, and there was no way that the blonde Hyuuga was letting her do anything strenuous for a long time.

"Why… Why Neko? A branch member would have been much easier to take…" Naruto frowned at his eldest.

"Don't call her Neko. You know it bothers her." Kouden landed and jumped another branch before replying.

"I'll stop when we aren't siblings." He stuck his tongue out at Naruto and blinked. Stopping on a branch, Naruto jumped ahead a few metres, before catching a thin branch with his chakra. Using his foot, he swung upside down and hung in front of Kouden, letting the rainfall slowly run down up his legs.

"I see a small thicket area that could have been used. It's just over there." Naruto nodded and flashing through a series of seals, sent a bright flare into the sky, a signal for the numerous ANBU that were scouring the forests.

Dropping down from the foliage, Kouden and Naruto brushed and ducked into the thicket and immediately saw the poorly hidden evidence of a small camp. Naruto frowned at the discarded bonds and the various herbs that were torn up.  
"Kuso…If only Sakura-chan was here, she could tell us what these were made for…" Naruto growled. Kouden nodded, kicking at the discarded bindings, looking hopelessly for something that would lead them to Haneko's kidnappers.

A scuffle at the entrance drew Naruto's attention, he turned and greeted the ANBU with a gesture of his hand.

"Sensei, did you find anything?" A tall man with hair that was more white than grey took off his ANBU mask, only to reveal another mask underneath it. He shook his head slowly.

"No. Haneko-chan, and the two persons she was with ended at the river north of here. We searched everywhere, but we couldn't find another whiff. It means that they either went upstream, downstream, or found a way to fool my dogs." Kouden frowned. If his teacher wasn't able to find his sister, the chances of her being located dwindled down to almost nothing.

Naruto sighed and put his forehead in his hands.

"Send messages to any and all villages we are aligned with, and to those we are neutral. Offer any neutral village temporary peace if they have any information on Haneko." Kakashi nodded and placed his mask back on. He turned and left in a puff of smoke.

"Isn't Kakashi-sensei too old to be in the ANBU?" Naruto shook his head sadly.

"He's not, technically, but he came out of retirement just to help find Haneko-chan."

"Ka-chan's going to kill you when she finds out." Naruto nodded solemnly.

"If you ever see your sister again, tell her that I love her. I fear I wont be alive tomorrow." Kouden sighed.

"Oyaji…"

* * *

Sasami walked through the halls of the hospital silently, a large contrast to the short blonde girl following her. In her arms she held a small and frail looking baby with a tuft of dark hair on his head. Behind her, the girl was carefully holding another baby, this one with tufts of light pink hair.

"Kaede, be careful with your sister." Kaede looked up at her mother and grinned. Sasami sighed, she looked so much like her father it was almost unfathomable. The girl's blonde hair was done up in pigtails that made her grandfather laugh out loud the first time he saw them. She had yet to pry out why the Hokage's eyes filled with mirth whenever his eldest grandchild came to visit him. Her eyes were white, signifying that she was of Hyuuga blood, as was her father.

The baby girl she was carrying on the other hand had eyes as honey coloured as Sasami's own. They lacked pupils, and Sasami figured they would have to wait for the twins to grow older to see if they could use the kekkei genkai that they should have been privy too.

Holding her son closer to her chest, Sasami quietly pushed open the door to the room that held her mother-in-law. Hinata had her eyes closed, but any experienced shinobi could tell that she wasn't sleeping.

"Mama, how are you feeling?" Sasami called, pulling a chair up beside Hinata's bed. Hinata opened her eyes and rested the lavender orbs on her grandson. Smiling she said,

"I'm alright for now, I suppose. It just came as a big shock. How are the twins? How are you? I heard that you just got out of the hospital yourself. Should you be walking around?" Sasami rolled her eyes and said,

"Mama…I'm fine. The twins are fine. Touya's really quiet though, but Sayuri makes up for him." Kaede muttered something and caught the pink haired woman's attention.

"Kaede… Give Sayuri to Oba-chan." Kaede handed the bundle to her grandmother and said,

"Baabaa! Are you ok? Where is Jiji? And Papa!" Sasami looked down at Touya's face, hoping Hinata couldn't see the worry in her eyes.

"Why I don't know… I suppose Jiji is at home by now, and Papa is probably waiting for you at your home too." She looked up at Sasami as if to confirm with her. Sasami shrugged.

"I have no idea, the last I saw him, he was going out with Shiro-kun for a drink or too. It's his day off." Kaede frowned and puffed a cheek out. She fingered her bright orange sweater and sat down on the floor. Hinata turned her attention back to Sayuri, who was gurgling in her arms.

"What are your thoughts on their eyes, Mama?" Hinata gazed at the baby's pupiless brown eyes.

"I don't know, honestly. I've never seen a Hyuuga without white eyes. I'm not sure what part of the gene allows for a Byakugan. But I think it's because these two are getting diluted genes…in the older days, before I was born and when I was a child, it was custom to either marry a cousin, or if one married outside the clan, that child marry a cousin in the clan again. My mother was my father's 4th cousin. Although, selective marriages is why most of us have dark hair." A slight blush formed on Hinata's cheeks and Sasami coughed.

"I know that Byakugan is a dominant gene, and Naruto's blue isn't, but your Brown eyes seem to have over powered Kouden's genes. Well, we'll find out more as they grow up."

Sasami nodded. The door opened and Kaede scrambled off the floor.

"Sakura-baa!" She yelled, hugging the medic around her legs.

"Kaede-chan! It's nice to see you! How is you mother… Oh! Sasami-chan How are you? I was going to stop by on the way home…" Sasami smiled and said,

"I'm fine, just a little tired, but I thought I owed Mama a visit, she hasn't been able to see the twins since they were born." Sakura smiled sweetly and said,

"How are they? Are they sleeping alright? Eating?" Sasami nodded.

"They're fine. Oh, but look! Sayuri's hair colour is starting to show!" Sakura peered at the baby in Hinata's arms and smiled widely when she saw the fine tufts of pink.

"Another girl with Haruno blood in her." Sasami nodded.

"I received a message from Nii-san yesterday, his wife just bore him a baby boy, and apparently he has a full head of pink hair as well. Speaking of men and pink hair, how is Osshi-kun? I haven't seen him in a while." Sakura frowned.

"He's pulling an extra shift. I just popped in and Hiro-kun had just woken up, but he didn't see anything." Sasami frowned with worry and Hinata looked up from the baby.

"Hiro-kun? Are you talking about Kimihiro? Haneko-chan's little boyfriend? What happened?" Sakura shut her mouth and Sasami hesitated before saying,

"O-oh? Nothing. He fell and hit his head pretty hard when him and Haneko were fooling around. And they aren't so little, Mama. Haneko's almost 16. Hinata nodded and looked out the window.

"They grow up so fast…" Sasami looked at Sakura and the older woman nodded, her falsely young features looking worriedly at the Hyuuga.

"Well, I have to take over for Osshi. He has to go home to his harem." Sasami smiled slyly.

"Oh, Ne-chan… You sound distressed about that. Isn't he fulfilling Sasuke-san's dream?" Sakura sighed.

"I just wanted him to settle down with one girl and have a few kids. You know that. Not that I don't love everyone of my grandkids, as well as their mothers…it's just that…well, 13 grandkids, and I'm not even 50." Sakura sighed again and shook her head. She waved at her cousin and left the room.

Sasami grinned.

* * *

Osshi sighed, unaware that his mother was doing the same thing. She was coming to take over his shift, and then he could go home, have one of his lady friends make him something hot to drink, and then go to bed.

Uchiha Osshimakuru's situation was an interesting one. Always one to please the ladies, a distraught one-night-stander appeared on his doorstep one day, claiming she was with his child. He was 18 at the time and did the only thing he could do when one's parents were two thirds of the Legendary Sannin, he panicked.

Of course Osshi wasn't very good at hiding things because Sakura soon found out about the girl and gave Osshi a very stern talking too. Neither him nor the girl wanted to marry, but she agreed to keep his baby. He offered her one of the many vacant houses in the Uchiha district, which is how Sasuke found out.

Surprisingly, Sasuke was in support of this idea and told her that as long as the baby had the last name Uchiha, she could live in the house free of rent for as long as she wanted. The girl was estatic, and shortly after moving in she bore the first Uchiha grandson.

Sakura and Sasuke weren't so happy about the next woman showing up claiming that she was pregnant. Or the next. Or the next.

To date, Osshi maintains healthy and happy relations with all 6 women, and is a loving a caring father to all 13 children, 6 of whom inherited his pink hair.

His first son, Sasuke, or Little Sasu, as Sakura calls him, skipped ahead in the academy, and is almost ready to become genin, almost 7 years old he has bright blue eyes like his mother, and hair black enough that Osshi secretly suspected Shiro was his father for a few years.

The creaky door of the hospital main office alerted Osshi to another's presence and broke him out of his thoughts of home. Looking up, he saw his mother's young face smiling kindly at him. A green diamond on her forehead a constant reminder of her physical abilites.

"Are you ready to go home to your harem?" She asked, a tinge of what Osshi thought was sarcasm in her voice. Osshi nodded and flashed a ladykilling grin at Sakura, who just rolled her eyes.

"It's that grin that landed me with 13 grandchildren. Speaking of, how is Yura-san? I heard she had a scare with Taichi-chan…" Osshi shook his head.

"It was nothing. He doesn't cry very often, Yura-chan thought something was wrong." Sakura nodded and Osshi stood up and bent down to kiss Sakura's cheek.

"I'll see you in three days." Sakura nodded again and smiled as her pink haired son left the office. Sakura picked up his clipboard and sighed at the doodles in the margins.

* * *

Kimihiro laid in the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, and unconsciously scratching at the bandage wrapped around his head. The day was coming to a close, and his mother was probably worried about him.

"Ahh…Kimihiro-kun. How is your head feeling?" A voice said, startling the black haired boy.

"U-uh…It's fine…Hurts a bit though." Hiro sat up and Sakura shined a small flashlight in his eyes for a few seconds.

"Well, your concussion is gone, I trust you no longer feel nauseous," Hiro nodded, "good. Well, as soon as we change the bandages you can go home. It's almost 11, I'm sure your mother is worried." Hiro nodded again as Sakura used a small chakra scalpel to slice off the gauze.

"Hmm… Be sure not to pick at this please. Come back at the end of the week and I'll check the stitches, but those will have to stay in until the wound heals all the way, ok?"

"Ok…Umm…Uchiha-sama?"

"Sakura-san is fine."

"S-Sakura-san? Is Hane-chan alright?" Sakura paused for a moment but continued to wrap gauze around Hiro's head.

"I don't know. Naruto just got back with the search party. I'd suggest waiting until tomorrow to go see him though." Sakura pinned the loose end down and Hiro nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more of a help…" Sakura patted the boy on top of his head.

"It's ok, we'll get her back. You'll see. By tomorrow she'll be home safe and sound. And here, take these when you get home, and then again when you wake up. After that, take two whenever you get a headache." Hiro nodded and smiled weakly, before sliding his legs over the edge of the bed.

* * *

O WOT WOT? UPDATE? Lol, crazzzyyyyy.

Don't expect another one soon, I'm totally killing curfew to get this to you guys.

Not much story, sorry, needed to fill up space with character updates! Yay! Reveiws are loved!

Moghedian


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Gaara reread the scroll, and reread it again before sighing loudly. This action caused a young woman with reddish brown hair and bright turquoise eyes to look at him. The woman stroked the small fennec fox in her arms and said,

"Tou…what did the scroll say? It takes a lot to make you sigh." Gaara looked up at his eldest child. The fox in her arms wiggled before heaving a sigh and falling back asleep.

"Hyuuga Haneko has been kidnapped, and the kidnappers outran Naruto, Kouden, several ANBU, and even Kakashi's ninken. He has asked us to keep an eye out for anything unusual." Kaisa stared at her father for a few moments before stroking the fennec again.

The kit was the granddaughter of Aki, the fox kit that Kouden had given her as a child. Aki had passed, unfortunately, at the age of 9, but not after birthing a litter of kits. A strange combination of a red fox and a fennec fox was the result. Matsuri was a little iffy on letting the 13 year old Kaisa keep Aki and her litter of 4, but the brown haired woman eventually gave in. Kaisa's personal hobby was training and raising the foxes, as they seemed to adapt well to fighting. Kaisa figured a few more generations, and she could make a contract to summon them in battle.

"That is not good… Does the letter say anything else?" Gaara shook his head.

"It briefly mentioned that he sent a few more letters to neighbouring countries." Putting his head in his hands, Gaara sighed again.

"Misfortune seems to plague that family." Kaisa said coolly before taking her leave.

"I shall be attending dinner at home tonight. Also, Haha-ue knows that I'm picking Sado-kun up from academy, so please do not worry if he is a little late today. He asked me if he could play with the new kits." Gaara tiredly let his head drop in a nod and watched his daughter leave.

Kaisa sighed and leaned against the wall as soon as she was out of sight. The kit in her arms woke and started to squirm. Kaisa stroked her to reassure her and she calmed.

The redhead continued to glide out of the building and made her way towards the academy that her father and his siblings has created in the likeness of Konoha's Academy. She timed herself correctly, and as soon as she stepped within sight of the school, a high chime sounded, and after a few seconds, students started to stream out of the building.

A scruffy looking 12 year old boy with light brown hair and black eyes caught Kaisa's eyes. His clothes were dusty and his new jacket was torn on one sleeve. Kaisa sighed.

"Sado-kun…Were you fighting again?" Kaisa asked as Sado blushed and tried brushing dust off of his jacket. Kaisa sighed again and turned to leave, Sado following after a few more brushes.

"Does it really look like it, Ne-chan?"

"Haha-ue is going to kill you. You just got that jacket last week, and you've torn the sleeve already." Sado grabbed his sleeve and moaned.

"Ugghh….I'm gonna kill that stupid Yamato. It wasn't my fault I swear! Please don't tell Mama. I'll sew it up tonight!" Kaisa rolled her eyes. Her younger brother was often involved in fights, usually for a slander against his father.

"When are your genin exams coming up? Have you been studying?" Kaisa said after a few minutes of silence. Sado scratched his head and said,

"Mmmm…Next week I think. And yea, I'll pass. I got through the practice exam pretty decently. I can thank you for reading those history texts to me as a kid, instead of normal stuff…" Kaisa smiled and ruffled the boy's short hair.

"We're here!" Sado shouted excitedly as soon as the small hut that Kaisa had built just for her foxes came into view. Kaisa smiled, and the kit in her arms squirmed excitedly. They couldn't speak yet, but Kaisa knew they could understand speech. She knew she needed to contact a kitsune spirit before any of her foxes could be summoned, and she had set the best research team her father could offer her to help find the spirit. In fact, she was due for a visit to Konoha. Naruto was the Jinchuuriki for a very powerful kitsune spirit, and she had a suspicion that the two conversed on a daily basis.

Sado, already through the door, leaned over the kennel fence and reached his arms out. A crowd of fennec foxes rushed towards him, yipping happily. Only a few stayed near the wall. Those were new kits from the wild. Their large tan ears folded against their heads, they seemingly glared at Kaisa when she lowered the kit in her arms into the crowd of her siblings and cousins.

The brown haired youth picked up three of the kits and said,

"Ne-chan! These three are the ones you should take with you to Konoha! Ichi and Ni can understand me almost perfectly, and San barks strangely, almost words. Maybe Kyuubi-san can like…I dunno, power 'em up or something." Kaisa grimaced. Taking a better look at the three kits in her brother's arms, the first one Sado called 'Ichi' was staring at her with an intelligent spark in his eyes. Ni was staring at Ichi, and San was trying to bark quietly, but oddly.

Sado put them on the ground in front of her, and Kaisa knelt down. Ichi and San sat down and stared at her, and Ni sat down after seeing Ichi do the same. Kaisa shook her head.

"Ichi understands me better than the rest, but you're right. I think San has a better concept of speech. Ni…She copies Ichi. I don't know if she learns…But I will take her with me to see Naruto-sama." Sado beamed, not quite covering the look of dejection on his face. Kaisa smiled kindly.  
"I'll let you name these three, if that would make you happy." Sado smiled brightly and nodded before he leaned into the kennel again.

* * *

Keii sighed heavily. His office was empty of people, but full of paper work. He set the scroll down. His sister's family never seemed to have peace. The honey blonde man tried to picture the girl's face. He had last met her more than 10 years ago, when she was little more than a shy little thing holding on to her mother's robe.

_Keii knelt down in front of Hinata and looked at the little red haired girl hiding behind her legs._

_"Hello, Haneko-chan. I'm Keii, Sasami's older brother." He held his hand out for the girl, and she blushed and tucked herself deeper into Hinata's legs. Hinata laughed. Keii stood straight and looked down at the indigo haired woman._

_"Where did her red hair come from?" Hinata shook her head. _

_"I'm not sure… None of my relatives have red hair, but Naruto-kun was an orphan, maybe his parents…?" Keii nodded._

_"Well, Hinata-sama, would you like to escort me to see Tsunade-sama? Seeing as my sister is busy giving birth." Hinata smiled coyly and looped her arm around Keii's outstretched one._

_Tsunade was chatting with Naruto and Jiraiya in his office. The blonde Hokage beamed when he saw his wife, daughter, and former student._

_"Ah! Keii! I haven't seen you in a while. Here, let me introduce you…Tsunade, Ero-sennin, this is my student Keii. He's going to be the next Raikage very soon." Keii bowed and Tsunade looked him up and down._

_"Hmm. Are you related to Uzumaki Sasami? Or, Ditama, before she was married." Keii nodded._

_"I am her older brother." Tsunade nodded, and said with a lighter tone, _

_"You look like her." Keii smiled._

_"Here, these are the papers you have to sign." Naruto said, handing Keii a small stack of paper. Keii sighed. He pulled up the chair in front of Naruto's desk and began a few hours worth of reading and signing._

_Hinata, Haneko, and Jiraiya left after a while, but Tsunade continued to watch Keii and Naruto when she wasn't reading._

_"So…Sensei, I noticed your little girl has red hair…" He left the question unfinished, but Naruto stopped writing and put his pen down. Stretching, he said, _

_"It's from my parents, I assume." Tsunade shut her book with a small clap._

_"Your mother. It's from your mother." Naruto blinked._

_"…What?" Tsunade leaned back and sighed. She was wondering when this day would come._

_"We should have told you when you were younger…but the time never came up…and then, you, well, died." Naruto shook his head._

_"You knew my mother?" Tsunade nodded._

_"Your father as well. They were great people. But your mother was the one with red hair. You look like her father, your grandfather. Her side is where you get your love for ninjutsu from." Naruto frowned._

_"You talk as if they lived here. I've searched the records over and over for anyone with the family name Uzumaki and I haven't found anything!" Tsunade shook her head._

_"Kushina was from the former Whirlpool Village. Uzumaki Kushina. You got her family name." Naruto was speechless._

_"…That…Why didn't I get my father's name? Who was he?" Tsunade turned her head to avoid his gaze._

_"Namikaze Minato." Silence. Tsunade looked at Naruto. His face was confused._

_"…You said that like he was really important…" Tsunade sweat dropped._

_"Ah, yea, they didn't let his name out very often. Uhm, Yondaime. Your father was Yondaime." Naruto's eyes widened._

_"I knew it."_

_"What?"_

_"Have you seen pictures? He looks like me, sans Kyuubi. I always dreamed of it as a kid." Tsunade laughed until she coughed. Keii continued to slowly fill out the forms._

_"Do you have a picture of my mother?" Tsunade shook her head. You'll have to ask Jiraiya for it. He knew her better."_

Keii had managed a long glance at Kushina's photo, and marvelled about how Haneko looked just like her, save for her eyes and lips, which he saw came from Hinata.

"Keii…Oh, sorry…were you thinking?" A fair haired woman with grey eyes asked quietly, startling the Honey haired Raikage. Keii shook his head and gazed at his wife. She was pretty, not beautiful, and a little plain, but her personality matched Keii's almost perfectly.

She was young, about ten years younger than Keii, and their marriage was arranged. He had met her only twice before actually performing the ceremony almost 2 years prior to this day.

Her family had been nobility in the southern junction of the Lightening Country until her father died and his company fell apart, leaving her and her 3 other sisters penniless and orphaned.

Luckily, a friend of hers had high connections and arranged marriages for the girls. Keii only accepted because of her family's misfortune, and because they had hit it off fairly well on their first meeting.

She was kind and had a sharp sense of humour, but respected Keii's position. He didn't love her, but he suspected he would in the coming future.

"I was…but don't be sorry. I was lamenting for my sister's family." Her pale cheeks reddened and she gasped.

"Did something happen to Sasami-nesan? Is she alright? Her children?" Keii shook his head again.

"Her husband's sister. She's been kidnapped and they lost her trail." She frowned.

"Who would be insane enough to kidnapped the Hokage's daughter…But still, I've heard of that poor family's perils…" She trailed off and said,

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Keii shook his head, and she shuffled over and placed her hand on his. Keii looked up and she smiled.

"It's late. Let's get some rest while we can, for I doubt Kuzaku will remain sleeping for very long." Keii nodded and rose from his desk, following his wife to the large building beside the office that they lived in, he decided to sleep on this, and tomorrow he would send a few ANBU to help Naruto in anyway he wished.

* * *

Haneko had awoken twice more but each time Byakko gave her some food and water before striking her out cold again. Yosuke offhandedly mentioned that she was going to suffer from brain damage if he didn't stop hitting her. Byakko had snorted.

Three days. Three days until he could finish this job, get paid, and go home. He was never going to assign himself to a ninja again.

Byakko was thinking along the same lines. Three more days until they reached Iwagakure, and he would have enough money to help Idzuna.

Haneko groaned, and Byakko was once again amazed at how fast she was able to work the drug out of her system. He let the red haired girl down from his back and set her against a rock. Digging out his canteen, he handed it to her after she opened her pale eyes.

Haneko was unbelievably thirsty. She felt like she had been stuck in the desert for a week. She didn't hesitate when the familiar canteen was shoved her face. Gulping back like a mad man, the thirst passed only to reveal an intense hunger.

But she ate slowly. She knew the boy would not hit her again until she was done eating, and took advantage of the time to ask questions.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked. Byakko sat in front of her, gnawing on some jerky. He paused, looked at her, and said,

"I need the money." Haneko frowned, wrinkling her nose, and unaware of the small tinge of rose on the white haired boy's face.

"I suppose I am needed alive, other wise you or the large man before would have killed me already…am I to have my eyes stolen?" Byakko swallowed his food.

"Probably. I was hired to take, not to know." The cold in his voice made the Hyuuga hate him even more. Taking another bite of her bread, she asked,

"Are you an albino? Your hair is so white, and your eyes…" Byakko shook his head.

"My father looked the same, apparently. My mother says that It was a bloodline that he spoke of briefly." No sadness traced his eyes whatsoever, and Haneko was curious.

"Looked? Is he dead?" Byakko nodded.

"He died when I was a baby. But I have a question for you now, if you don't mind." Haneko was about to speak, but he cut her off.

"Why do you heal so fast? The drugs that I slip into your food should last for at least a day, yet I find you stirring after only a few hours." Haneko looked at her food and almost set it down, but figured she had eaten enough of it to be drugged anyway.

"My father, the Hokage, is a Jinchuuriki; I suppose Iwa didn't inform you of that. He hosts Kyuubi, and apparently, my brother and I inherited some of his healing powers." Byakko nodded, but scoffed in his head. Why wasn't he informed that a relative of the target was a Jinchuuriki? They should have known that even if they attained the wrong person, the Kyuubi vessel was bound to chase them.

Byakko couldn't even comprehend why they hadn't been compromised yet. A build-up of chakra snapped Byakko back to the real world as he saw veins stand out around Haneko's eyes, making her look angry and dangerous. She swivelled her head in a certain direction, and before Byakko could react, sent a flare of pure chakra about 20 feet in the air. Water droplets sprayed finely around her hand as the pure chakra collided with the air.

Byakko pounced on Haneko, tackling her to the ground, but she had already succumbed to the drug and was as limp as a doll. Yosuke awoke from his snooze against a tree and looked around wondering what the commotion was about.

Byakko tried to absorb the chakra in the air, trying to make it less noticeable, because the amount she used, probably most of what she had in her body, felt like three low level ninja in the air.

He couldn't get a lot of it, as it had dissipated into the air already, but he managed to absorb enough to make it only noticeable to those close by. He gathered the girl up and ran. Yosuke struggled to keep up, by Byakko didn't care. That plume of chakra would have been like a flare to any experienced ninja within a few kilometres radius. Byakko swore at the girl's cleverness, and pushed off another rock sailing across a shallow ravine.

* * *

A few groups of ninja swivelled their heads to the sudden flare of chakra. All but one dismissed it as it didn't last longer than a few seconds, and could very well have just been a few old wolves hunting down a dear. One party immediately dropped what they had been doing and hunted down the spot as fast as possible.

This group, compromising of 6 people, were from Konoha, and had either grown up around Haneko, had been trained to recognize her chakra, or had both under their belts.

They reached the now smeared and hardly recognizable source only to find scuffed dirt, and crumbs from bread. The foot prints lead north, and after one of the members who had a special ability to see chakra aftermath studied the patterns for a few moments, they sped off hoping to catch another trail, or trace of the girl's chakra.

* * *

Haneko awoke after a few hours, and saw that it was dark. She was lying on the ground and a blanket was covering her upper body. She tried to lift her head, but as soon as she moved everything hurt. She felt like the boy with the white hair had beaten her with a sack of potatoes. Feeling about her reserves, Haneko almost snorted at her lack of chakra.

She decided that sleeping was better than being knocked out, so she closed her eyes and slept through the night. Or would have, had something not grabbed her shoulder almost as soon as she nodded off.

Her shoulder hurt, and Haneko cried out in pain. She tried opening her eyes, but everything was fuzzy and swirling. The only thing she could focus on was a fuzzy white shape that was closing in on her. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Two red blobs were brought down fast and Haneko, once again, felt nothing but pain, and saw nothing but black before she slipped into sweet, painless bliss.

* * *

End Chapter 3 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Haneko woke again to pain, but much less intense than the last time she was conscious. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that it was dark, really, really dark. The only light source that her eyes picked up was the feeble moonlight as it tried to shine through clouds.

Sitting up, the muscles in her abdomen protested and it took all she had not to grunt. The man who had kicked her was scrunched up in his coat by the entrance of the little cave she was in, ruling out any possibility of escape. When she looked for Byakko, she stifled a gasp.

His hair was not the usual greyish purple tinged white, instead it was stained red and brown. His clothes were the same, and the way he was sleeping suggested he had thrown himself down in exhaustion.

The commotion that had woken her up earlier came to mind, mainly images and sounds, but she remembered the colour red. Someone was killed, she supposed. Or maybe the blood was Byakko's. Haneko was slightly disappointed that she didn't have enough chakra to use her byakugan to check the boy for wounds. Instead, she unsteadily wavered over him without making contact, looking for any visible wounds.

Other than a cut along his cheek she couldn't see anything, and the stench of dried blood was making her sick. Sick enough to be hungry, as her stomach gave a growl that made Yosuke shift.

Haneko quietly scuffled over to Byakko's bag and found some jerky. Caring not whether it was drugged, she ripped a piece off and marvelled at how it didn't taste like bread at all. She was so enthralled in how wonderful the jerky tasted after a few days, she wasn't quite sure how many days had passed since she had been taken, that she didn't notice that Byakko's spot was empty until he gripped her shoulder making the Hyuuga jump a foot in the air and let out an airless shriek.

"Eating my food I see. You could have better spent your time killing us in our sleep and escaping." Haneko cursed. She hadn't even thought of that. The red and brown stains in Byakko's hair were starting to make her nauseas again and she sat back, as far from his head as possible. Byakko let go of her shoulder and winced when he pushed his hair back only to have it crackle with dried blood.

"Ehh…I need a bath. Care to join me? You smell like crap, girl." Haneko frowned at the insult, and blushed at the invite.

"How do you know I won't run away?" Byakko raised an eyebrow.

"I have my ways. Now come, there's a river near by." Haneko stood and followed the red-stained white haired boy past Yosuke who just grunted and rolled over when he saw Byakko.

He led Haneko down a short trail to a pond that led to a river. Performing a few hand seals and murmuring the name of a jutsu, Haneko found herself bound to Byakko by a decently lengthed piece of chakra rope. The chakra rope glowed an eerie white colour, and attached itself around Haneko's thigh. A tap of her own chakra showed Haneko that this rope was a lot stronger than she thought, and she would need a lot more chakra than she had now to break it.

"Clever." Haneko said. Byakko smiled warmly.

"Oka-san taught me that. Said it helped to keep my Father in line." Haneko looked down at the water and said,

"I'm sorry about your Father. I don't know what I would do if my Father died." Byakko gave a short laugh and said,

"No no. Oka-san and Otou-san are my adoptive parents. They were friends of my real parents and took me in when they died, or so they told me. I'm starting to think there was more than that though. Who know, I might be a kidnapping victim myself." He ended with a grin and Haneko was mortified.

"How can you joke about that? That's horrible!" Byakko shrugged and stepped into water, dragging the red head behind him with a little girlish squeal.

Haneko's bath was more of a soak. She ducked underwater, clothes and all, and rubbed and patted the dirt and sweat that had accumulated over the past few days. 3, Byakko had said. They were on their 3rd night, and tomorrow would be the 4th day. Haneko frowned when she was told this. She hoped Hiro was ok.

Haneko's bath was also very informative. Byakko told her some tales of his childhood, about his parents and this girl called Idzuna. He only mentioned her twice, and when Haneko asked about her, Byakko spaced out before changing the subject.

When Byakko asked her about herself, she started a sentence about her mother when a sudden realization stopped her mid-sentence. It was too easy to talk to this boy. She felt much too comfortable in his presence; something that her instincts told her was not that great of a thing to feel.

"Well?" Byakko asked, blinking when the girl paled and looked at him with fear in her eyes. Her pale eyes reminded Byakko of the moon, something he could stare into for hours. He felt a little blood rush to his face but beat it down before it showed anything. Haneko shook her head, either ignoring or unaware of the small blush that Byakko had shown before forcing the blood away.

"N-no! I'm not telling anything! You'll just use it to your advantage and like, murder my family or something!" She said in a scared sort of shout. Byakko was taken aback.

"Do I look like someone who would do that?" Haneko hesitated.

"Where did all the blood come from?" Byakko puffed his cheek out momentarily with thought.

"A boar tried to get in. It sensed warmth and smelt flesh. I killed it." Haneko frowned, causing a crease to form on her forehead.

"With your bare hands?" Byakko stumbled.

"W-why do you say that?"

"I woke up. There was blood everywhere…and your hair and clothes! No way that much blood came from killing a boar. Don't lie to me. My eyes see many things." Byakko shook his head and left the pond, dragging Haneko along with him, shouting protests and questions along the way.

* * *

Kaisa tapped her fingers on her knee as she sat in the Hokage's office, waiting for Naruto to show up. The door opened and Kaisa looked back, expecting to see a tall blonde man, but instead saw a short blonde girl rummaging in a corner that held a few children's toys. Her eyes were pale and either purple or blue, she couldn't tell in the light, but she could see that she had no pupils.

"Oh, you must be one of Kouden-san's children." The girl stopped shifting through the pile and stared up at Kaisa.

"Oh! Lady! I didn't even see ya! Who are you? Have you seen my kitty?" Kaisa smiled gently and pointed to a battered looking stuffed cat that sat at the other end of the pile of toys.

"My name is Kaisa. What's yours? And where are your parents?" The girl scrambled to her cat and picked it up. She turned and stood facing Kaisa and said, whilst petting her cat,

"M'name's Kaede. Papa is with Mama, but I'm s'posed to wait for Jiji here. Can I stay?" Kaisa found the mannerism of her speech amusing and nodded, throwing small questions at her.

By the time Naruto finally entered his office, Kaisa had learned that she had two younger siblings, twins, and boy and a girl, and that her Papa was often busy being a ninja, but her Mama was not a ninja anymore.

"A-ah, Kaisa-chan. I see you have met my granddaughter. Did she talk your ear off?" Kaisa stood and bowed. When she raised she smiled pleasantly and said,

"No, Naruto-sama. She was very informative of her family though. I was not aware that Sasami-san was having more children. Congratulations on the twins." Naruto grinned his signature fox grin and said,

"It's awesome, isn't it?" Kaisa nodded nervously. For a Hokage, he was speaking like a teenager. Naruto sat back down and Kaisa followed example.

"First comes first. What business has attracted you to Konoha?" Kaisa bowed her head and said solemnly,

"I am truly sorry for your daughter, and so as well as a favour that I ask of you, My father has sent me and two other tracking specialists to aid in the search for Haneko from here. He has already sent numerous of his shinobi after her." Naruto's eyes went from warm cerulean to a cold purple. The colour changed surprised Kaisa, but she filed it away as things that a Jinchuuriki does.

"I appreciate this very much. Tell Gaara that next time you see him. And as for the favour, I hope it is much less melancholic?" Kaisa managed a smiled and said,

"I have a few foxes that I have trained to be ninken. They understand speech, but as I have been informed, to form a summoning contract, you must first contact a spirit. The only one I could think of was Kyuubi. Can you communicate with him?" Naruto frowned slightly.

"He says that he found it odd how you smelt of desert foxes. He says that he would need to talk to the foxes himself…Uh, do you have them here in Konoha?" Kaisa blinked; surprised that she had made contact with the mighty fox so easily.

"U-uh, yes. I have five of them staying with my partners. I'd rather not bring them all up here…so…" Naruto waved his hand.

"I'll come. Kaede-chan needs her exercise, and I hate being stuck in this office. Kaisa-chan, lead the way!" Naruto said, saluting at Kaede who giggled and saluted clumsily back. Kaisa sighed and smiled before rising to lead Naruto to the guest quarters.

* * *

A bloody hand gripped the ground, determined not to stop under any circumstances. He needed medical attention badly, various open wounds were getting filled with sand and his clothes were soaked in the blood of his comrades and himself.

His comrades…He let a small tear fall in their memory. Clutching his side, the worst wound, he pushed himself onwards. He could almost see the tall building that surrounded Sunagakure. The kid, the kid with the eerie white hair and the horrible red eyes…Those would forever haunt his dreams.

_The group of six ANBU sent by the Hokage himself managed to pick up on Haneko's chakra. Her kidnappers were clever, the trail was extremely hard to find, almost as if something was sucking her chakra trail out of the air… But finally, that night they saw a wisp of smoke. The night was clear, and that was probably the only reason they even spotted it._

_Like the group of silent assassins they were, the six ANBU descended onto the cave, rushing inside, but the boy was prepared. A wave of…chakra maybe, it happened too fast. The closest ANBU to the boy with white hair was hit and blood splattered everywhere. Chunks of her flesh sloshed to the ground and she crumpled without a sound. By this time, the other one, a man with a sword had awoken and started exchanging blows with another ANBU._

_Spotting Haneko, who was crumpled up in a corner, he quickly grabbed made his way over to her and grabbed her shoulder, and grimaced as he watched her face writhe in pain. Something bit into his shoulder and pulled him back, ripping the skin along with it. He cried out in pain as whatever the kid had used against the first ANBU hit him, glanced him really, for he was sure he would be dead if it hit him full on._

_He fell to the ground and through his mask watched the boy strike Haneko down before he himself lost consciousness._

_When he woke he threw up from the pain. It was still dark, indicating that not a lot of time had passed. He sat up and looked around, holding the gaping wound on his side. The walls were covered in blood. Nearly every square inch, and it was starting to smell. His team lay in ambles and pieces around him, unmoving. _

_He quickly, and painfully, got himself out of there before he threw up again, and without much difficulty, as he was trained to withstand pain to a degree, sped off as fast as his body would let him in the direct of Suna, the closest ninja village to his position._

_His body gave up half way to the village in the middle of the desert, but he was determined to get there, Gaara had to know where they were headed. So he found himself crawling in the sand, fuelled by his love for his village and its people, and pure determination._

He blinked, the sun was lower, he must have passed out. He frowned and started to crawl again. The pain was bordering near insane amounts. He could feel each grain of sand as they ground themselves into his open wounds.

Murmurs caressed his ears. He tried to lift his head up, but he was too weak, too hungry, too thirsty. The murmurs got louder and clearer.

"…over there!" Someone said, female or a young boy, he couldn't make out. Letting his lids close against the blinding heat, he couldn't even bring enough energy up to flinch when a pair of hands turned him over, the sun warming his stomach and burning his wound almost instantly.

"O-oh! This is bad. Quick! Bring me antiseptic." He raised his hand to the person who had turned him over and moaned.

"You're conscious? You must be in a lot of pain. I'm going to give you something to make you sleep, trust me, you'll be in a lot less pain, but be glad, if the guard change hadn't decided to scope with detail, you would have fried in the desert." A woman, he decided, her tone was too mature to be a young boy's. He felt a prick on his arm, and within seconds the pain receded and he slept.

* * *

When he woke again, the pain was minor. There were a few people around him, most dressed in white. He raised his hand to his face and saw that it was bandaged, and he was being fed something by a needle in the back of his hand. He rested his arm over his eyes and said,

"A-am I dead?" One of the nurses, he decided that's what they would be for now, laughed and shook her head. Her voice was the one from before.

"No, you're fine, even though you took heavy wounds. The hot sand helped grind away the infections, although, other than that, it did more damage to your muscles and skin that I would have liked to have fixed." He grimaced, and then he bent over and threw up on the floor beside his bed. The woman grimaced as well, and another nurse, one with short black hair quickly mopped it up.

"Ok, so, what I need you to do now is tell me what you saw. What happened to you. Your gear says you are Konoha ANBU, and everyone knows that the Hokage's daughter was taken. I'm the chief of the medical staff, so you can tell me anything and everything. What happened?" He started shaking his head.

"Dead. All dead. He killed them all, that boy with the white hair and red eyes." He felt the urge to throw up again, but held it down.

"What boy? Is this the kidnapper?" He nodded.

"There were six of us. He barely hit me and almost killed me…I saw her, Haneko, she was alive when I tried to get her…" The woman stroked his cheek, it was comforting. Everything was spinning and confusing him.

"Ok, it's ok. You're almost done. Now, which way were they headed, or where were they?" He sighed and leaned into her hand. Her warm, comforting hand.

"They are, or were in Bird Country, they are heading towards Iwa." He then slipped into a blissful sleep, leaving the chief of medics scrambling to the Kazekage.

* * *

Hinata lay curled in her bed. The hospital had released her with instructions to rest as much as she could and to avoid strenuous activities. Haneko, technically was the clan leader to the Hyuuga, now that Hanabi was dead. The man who had done it was found unconscious a few kilometres outside the gates. He said that he was hired to kill the clan leader and take one of the branch members, but someone knocked him out and stole Haneko. When Ibiki and Ino tried to get more out of him, he bit his tongue and killed himself.

Haneko wasn't 18 yet, so Kouden was the regent for her, he came in everyday and did the paperwork, with a lot of help from Hinata, who grew up learning it before she was exiled.

Rubbing the faded tattoo on her stomach, she sighed. The tattoo served Haneko well, massaging her chakra system in the womb, resulting in higher stores, more than her brother when he was her age.

Sasami had visited her several times with the twins, as Kaede preferred to stay with Naruto and Kouden. The boy, Touya had taken a liking to Hinata, and the Hyuuga pained in her stomach. It had been a week since Haneko had been napped, and there was still no sign of her. The pain of having one of her children taken away was a pain she didn't want to experience again, the first time with Kouden was enough.

Naruto slipped into the room quietly and slid into bed with Hinata, wrapping his arms around her waist. His breath was hot against her back and she shivered, goosebumps running up and down her arms and legs.

"Anything yet?" She asked. Naruto rubbed her side before saying,

"Not yet. But something's going to happen tomorrow. Kyuubi tells me he senses a disturbance. Maybe we'll get news tomorrow from the ANBU I sent out." Hinata shook her head, letting a few more tears fall before turning around and pressing herself into Naruto's chest.

"Why us? Why my family?" Naruto stroked her hair and sighed.

"I don't know, I really don't." Hinata choked back a sob and Naruto continued to stroke her hair.

* * *

Chapter 4 End 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Kaisa smiled at the kits in front of her. Ichi, Ni, and San, as Sado had named them officially were dozing with the two other kits she had brought. Rubbing her hand over Ichi and San's heads before trailing onto Ni's stomach, she sighed, remembering a particularly harrowing experience that had happened not ten minutes past.

_"They are in here, Hokage-sama." Naruto wrinkled his nose. He never liked being called that by people he knew personally, but Kaisa had been that way in her mannerism since she was a child, and Naruto let it slide. He followed the red head into the guest quarters and smiled brightly at the fennec foxes who immediately stopped playing and ran towards Kaisa. One of them was barking strangely, half words to Naruto._

_"Alright, Kaisa, I don't want you to be frightened. I'm going to momentarily let Kyuubi have control, but don't worry, he's harmless and although he's brash, he means no one any harm anymore." He added on quickly, at the look in the sand-nin's eyes. Kaisa nodded jerkily and Naruto closed his eyes._

_**"Ahhh… I haven't been out in a while."**__ Naruto, or, Kyuubi stretched and yawned. His voice was deeper and harsher, and the scars on Naruto's face had widened even further, turning a dark brown. His eyes were a blazing red and Kaisa couldn't help but stare in fascination. She had a secret obsession with Jinchuurikis, and was even compiling a book, based on data that Gaara and Naruto both had given her._

_**"Let's see here. This one, this one, and this one. The other two are pure fennec. You'd have to find the dessert spirit to make a contract. These first three…I smell my kind in them."**__ Kaisa nodded again as Kyuubi picked Ichi, Ni, and San out of the kennel by the scruffs of their necks. All three of them licked Kyuubi's hand in affectionate gestures when he put them down in front of him._

_"Their g-grandmother was a red fox… Kouden-san gave her to me when I was a child…" Kyuubi looked up at Kaisa and she noticed that his hair was wilder than before, and a little more orange, but that might have been her imagination._

_Placing his long clawed hand onto Ichi's head, Kyuubi leaked a small amount of red chakra into the kit's head. Ichi made a small noise and shook his head and chest fur. Kyuubi did the same thing to Ni and San and then said, _

_**"Let them sleep first. I gave them a little boost, the third one will be able to speak quite well, he was already on the verge. I don't know about the other two. Maybe. Is that all?"**__ Kaisa bit her lip and said rather shyly, _

_"I-if you don't mind, would I be able to make a summoning contract for these foxes?" Kyuubi sat back casually and said, _

_**"I can for now. A temporary one. These foxes have too much dessert in them to make a real one. You'll have to find the dessert fox spirit. Last time I heard from her she was taking resident near a small village in Kazekuni. If you ask around for an increase in foxes in certain areas, you'll probably find her. Bring temaris; she loves playing with those."**__ Kaisa nodded quickly and bowed, thanking the fox as his features receded and his eyes turned a sad, yet warm blue._

_"So will you be going back to your home now that you have your answers?" Naruto asked. Kaisa shook her head._

_"I promised Otou that I would help search for Haneko. She comes first." Naruto smiled at the red head and walked past her. Kaisa picked the small kits up and gently laid them in their kennel with the other two kits before shuffling quickly out to the hall to follow Naruto._

* * *

Haneko rolled her white eyes and sighed loudly and annoyingly. Yosuke grunted, but Byakko didn't say anything. They were walking now, due to Yosuke's constant complaining about having to run everywhere, but much to Haneko's surprise she was conscious. She was tied to Byakko with the chakra rope that he had used during the "bath" from the previous night.

She was exhausted. The rope, as she finally figured out, was slowly sucking her chakra out and feeding it to Byakko, who in contrast, never seemed to run out of energy.

She was delighted to be walking at last, but when she questioned why the white haired boy wasn't knocking her unconscious again, he mumbled something about 'damaging merchandise', which made her frown, and Yosuke yelled out that she was just plainly too fat, which resulted with her foot, painfully making contact with his groin. She smirked with satisfaction. That kick felt good to her, payback for the ones he delivered earlier.

So she took advantage of the situation and did what her mother raised her to do, study, but without looking so. She noticed from the way Byakko walked that he was limber. Probably scrawny, she wasn't sure. The large red scarf that hung around his neck effectively hid his neck, and the rest of his chest was hid by a faded-brown stained shirt.

His arms were bare and slightly scrawny. She concluded that the quality of his clothes and from his build that he was defiantly not rich. She didn't think he lived with his parents, as Haneko had yet to meet a mother who let her child roam around in tatters.

One thing that her mind kept deviating towards was the tattoo she saw peeking from the edge of the arm hole of his shirt. It was just a little black squiggle, but it intrigued her. She felt like asking about it, but it felt too personal, even for her.

Yosuke was tall. About as tall as Naruto. His hair was a brown mop of curls and mess that looked like it had never seen a brush in its life. His eyes were blue, his beard was scraggly and patchy, and his nose looked like someone had hit him in the face with a bat once or twice.

His jacket was baggy and tattered, but on closer look, Haneko saw that this was intentional for camouflage and warmth purposes. She wondered who had made it, for she didn't think Yosuke had the fingers for it. His brown, cut-off hakama stopped mid calf and allowed for mobility, Haneko guessed, seeing that he was a swordsman.

Feeling about her chakra reserves, she was glad to see that her chakra was recovering faster than Byakko could suck it away, but only barely.

"Kidnapper-san, tell me more about you. It's too quiet." Byakko looked back at her and adjusted his pace so that he was walking side by side with her. He turned to her and said, calmly,

"No. Not until you tell me about yourself. You say you're the Hokage's daughter? Tell me about your family." Haneko pursed her lips.

"What are you going to do with the information I give?" Byakko shook his head, making his white hair messier.

"Nothing. I have no use for it. Iwa probably has all of your family's names and occupations and stuff like that on record already. Most of them seem to fear spiky haired blondes." Haneko gave a snort. She knew that it was her Grandfather who put that fear into them and she was proud of it.

"F-fine. I guess… If it breaks the silence." Byakko smiled kindly and a warm feeling arose in Haneko's heart. Yosuke snorted from in front and the feeling left. Turning her gaze to the road ahead she started,

"I have an older brother who everyone says looked exactly like my father before the accident happened. Although, my mother says it was a murder attempt on both her and Tou-san. Kouden-nii is almost 15 years older than me, and is married to Sasami-ne who is the same age. Actually, you know what? I think I heard her say somewhere that she was older. Anyway, I have two nieces, Kaede, who is seven and looks like a female version of my brother, and Sayuri who was just born along with her twin brother, my nephew, Touya. Sayuri-chan has pink hair like Sasami-ne and Sakura-sama. Touya-chan has my Mama's dark hair. I, apparently, am a carbon copy of my father's mother, Uzumaki Kushina." Byakko gasped quietly, but Haneko caught it. She looked up at Byakko and tilted her head.

"Mm? Do you know of her?" Byakko raised his brows and said,

"Who doesn't? She's a legend in Iwa and Ame. Especially Amegakure, since they took over the Whirlpool village. She was a great shinobi, unstoppable, but she disappeared nearly 50 years ago and was never heard of again. I guess I solved the mystery. She must have met up with your grandfather." Haneko smiled coyly.

"So what about your parents? What is the Hokage of Konoha like, anyway?" Haneko kicked a rock.

"Mmm…I dunno. He's nice. I don't see him much, he spends a lot of time in his office. He's a good fighter, I saw him spar with Nii-chan once. It was insane. I'de never want to cross him. You must be a good tracker because he would have caught you by now…" Byakko turned his head.

"I must be. Go on though, your family seems interesting." Haneko frowned.

"I spent most of my time with Mama. She said she was a shy when she was younger, and stuttered because her father wasn't very nice to her. I wonder how she's doing…" Haneko frowned again and choked back a sob. Byakko frowned.

Haneko looked up at the pale haired boy, tears welling in her milky eyes. Byakko's heart gave a twinge and he reached out to touch her arm. Haneko cried out.

"I'm never going to see her again! I don't want to die! Why are you doing this!" Byakko shied back and Haneko tried to run, but the chakra rope only served to trip her, sending her tumbling to the rocky ground, causing various scrapes and bruises which only served to make her cry harder.

Byakko stumbled when Haneko tripped, but managed to steady himself. Haneko sobbed on the ground, beating it with her fists, which only served to get more rocks and debris stuck into them. Yosuke looked back, obviously annoyed, before sitting and folding his legs under a large tree and pulling out some rations to munch on.

Giving up a good minute later, Haneko lay on the ground, curled in the fetal position, only moving to breath and give the occasional sob. Byakko knelt down and softly put his hand on her arm. Haneko didn't even flinch.

"I'm so…tired. I just want to sleep." She whispered hoarsely. Byakko frowned, but nodded. Flicking his hands through a few seals, the glow of the chakra rope dissolved, and Byakko picked the tired girl up bridal style, and said,

"We're breaking for the night. I'm sure you don't care." Yosuke rolled his eyes and got up to go waste time. Byakko turned back to the girl in his arms. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks blemished with tears. She had a small brown freckle on her cheek under her eye and Byakko blushed when he realized he was staring. Something about this girl, he thought, was captivating him, and it was starting to get dangerous.

* * *

Haneko woke to a small, smokeless, crackling fire and sat up slowly.

"I see you're awake. Are you feeling better?" Byakko said, slightly startling Haneko. Gazing at him she frowned.

"Why are you being so nice? I wouldn't expect a kidnapper to let their prey walk around and talk…" Byakko shrugged.

"I decided that since they are probably going to kill you, you'd enjoy a nice walk." Haneko glared at the boy through tears that had sprung up. If Byakko had been a cat, his ears would have flattened as he quickly apologized.

"We are going to be there tomorrow. I just wanted to say sorry." Haneko watched as Byakko stood up.

"Sorry for what?" Byakko looked away and said,

"Sorry for this." And with that, he struck her one last time, and tossed her over his shoulder, joining Yosuke who was waiting rather impatiently a few feet from the light range of the fire.

"Are we finally leaving? I think someone's tailing us." Byakko looked out over the horizon. Trees had become sparse due to rocky soil, but rock was plentiful. Great cliffs of it rose here and there, but Byakko was concentrating on beyond the cliffs. He shook his head.

"Yea, there's a group of nin that don't have the signature that Iwa put out. Although, it doesn't have the same feeling as Konoha either, but we better be careful. They're traveling fast and with a purpose." Yosuke narrowed his eyes at the 'brat' and swiftly walked by him, intent on getting his pay check and getting back to Naomi. Byakko shifted the red head on his shoulder before following Yosuke, a look of cool and calm composure decorated it, but inside he was swirling around like a whirlpool full of uncertainty and doubt.

* * *

Kaisa was tired, but determined. Her small search group had quickly found a trace of Haneko's chakra, something only capable due to her teammates kekkei genkai, and had been running for three days straight. They had passed the Tsuchi Country border a mere hour ago and Kaisa was pretty sure they had set a travelling record. She had sensed a few people up ahead, but she was sure that they had sensed her as well, seeing as they were now moving.

The red haired ninja shook her head. She knew, along with her teammates, that they would not be able to reach Iwa before Haneko's captors did, but they would be close, and might be able to get the girl before the bastards that took her did anything.

Kaisa thanked the willpower of the lone ANBU survivor for the directions. She, along with a lot of her home village, admired the tenacity of Konoha's ninja.

_Kaisa exited her quarters after Naruto, sparing her kits one last glance. She shut her door quietly and Naruto grunted. Kaisa turned to see a young girl, no older than Haneko, wearing a strange uniform. A yellow band on her shoulder held the kanji for "cipher" painted in dark red. She was sitting on the ground, her hat was askew and her papers were spread all over the floor._

_"H-Hokage-sama! Please! Forgive me!" Naruto grabbed the girl's arm and hoisted her off, before dusting her shoulder off. The girl's face turned red with admiration and embarrassment. Kaisa figured that she, along with a lot of young girls in the village, (and in some cases, older ones) had impossible crushes on the Rokudaime._

_"No no! It's my fault, Kinusaya-chan. Here, don't let me disturb what you were doing." Kaisa bit her lip. The blush on Kinusaya's face steadily darkened, and Kaisa wasn't entirely sure Kinusaya was her name, or a nickname Naruto had given her due to the pea-pod colour of her hair and eyes._

_"N-no! A-ano, I have an urgent document for you! I just finished translating it!" Naruto blinked before snatching the document from her hands. Kinusaya, or whatever her name might have been, stood back and folded her hands behind her back shyly. Naruto unscrolled it and skimmed it._

_"How long ago did this come in?" The blonde asked. _

_"A-ano, about 15 minutes ago. It took me 5 minutes to translate it and ten minutes to find you…" Naruto looked over at her.  
"5 mintues? I'm impressed. I'll have to talk to Ringo-san about a promotion." Kaisa bit her lip again. Apple? Surely these must be nicknames._

_"Thank you for this information, Kinusaya-chan. You can leave. Kaisa, you're going to Iwagakure, you leave in 15 minutes." Kaisa blinked._

_"What does it say; if you mind me asking?" Naruto pursed his lips._

_"Your father said that of the ANBU group I sent out, Haneko-chan's captor killed all of them but one, and he was seriously wounded. He managed to tell them what direction they were headed and a description of the most dangerous one, a white haired boy with red eyes estimated to be aged between 15 and 18. He said that Haneko was alive, but unconscious. The ANBU is still in a medically induced coma, but stable." Kaisa bowed sharply.  
"My team will be ready in 15 minutes. We shall head north and not stop until we find Haneko. I can guarantee you your daughter back, Hokage-sama." Naruto smiled sadly at her and left, heading towards his office._

_Kaisa turned back to her room and informed her team of the plans. No objections were raised, and after carefully putting Ichi, Ni, San, and the two fennec kits in their carrying kennel, she left, quickly and silently, the very image of a ninja._

* * *

Dawn was coming, turning the skies a wonderful mix of pinks, purples, and blues. More than one set of eyes were admiring this. Kaisa, along with her female team mate sighed in content as they sailed through the steadily chilling air. They were on top of the enormous cliffs that Earth Country was famous for. Frost thick enough to look like snow dotted the spots still in the shade and Kaisa stared in wonder. She, living in a desert, still found rain odd and unnatural. Something Kouden had made jest of many times when she was a child.

Byakko, on the other hand, simply pulled a grey jacket on. He was used to the weather, having lived in the Earth Country for nearly a year. Although, he much preferred the humid and warmer climate of his home village. Haneko started to stir and Byakko shifted her.

"We need to go faster." He said to Yosuke, who acknowledged with a curt nod and a small blast of chakra as both he and the white haired boy picked up an already dizzying pace. Byakko spared a second to look at the sky again and sighed. Sunsets and sunrises in Iwa were something he was definitely going to miss when he finished his main mission.

The girl on his shoulder gave a quiet moan and Byakko shifted her again. Placing his hand on her back, he concentrated until sweat started to form on his brow. Small tendrils of chakra wrapped around her spine and wormed up into her brain, effectively knocking her out again.

Byakko frowned. He didn't like using that technique. It took too much chakra, required too much concentration, and required the victim to be completely still. A side effect that rarely happened was a loss of memory from the previous few days or hours, depending on how strong the person's will was. He hoped that he had done it correctly.

* * *

End Chapter 2

* * *

D; SORRY GUYS. WRITER'S BLOCK IS A HORRID THING.

I have the story all awesome after Haneko gets to Iwa, but the crap I had to puke all over my keyboard to get her there makes me sad. Sorry for the crap chapter and slow update D; I've been working on another story ;D I might post it up soon.

More of Kaisa and the Kits next chapter! ((I don't know where I'm going with it, other than Kaisa making summons?)) IF ANYONE HAS ANY CHARACTER POP-UP REQUESTS AS FILLERS, PLEASE, TELL ME. I LOVE PLEASING THE FANS heart

Mog


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Kaisa's team-mate tripped on a loose rock, but regained her footing quickly.

"K-Kaisa-sama!" She called. The redhead spared her a glance in response.

"Haneko-sama's chakra…It's…muted!" Kaisa frowned, and slowed to run beside her team-mate.

"What do you mean?" The woman with the kekkei genkai struggled for words.

"It's like…she's asleep… No, because I can still get the vibes…A coma? Yea. It's fading. I think she's in a coma, or deeply unconscious. The enemy might have gotten her!" Kaisa groaned in frustration. This was getting worse and worse, and her teammates were getting more tired by the minute.

"Let's just keep going. We'll follow her chakra as long as possible, it might get us to the hidden village." The woman nodded sharply and took the lead.

Ten minutes led Kaisa's group to very well hidden large gates carved into the cliff itself. A few villagers dotted the road that led up to it, walking to and from the gates. The male on her team went through the seals for a henge, but Kaisa stopped him and shook her head.

"It wont work. We must dress like a civilian, and try to walk like one. Tomo-san, do you have any normal clothes?" The woman nodded and set her bag on the ground, unzipped it, and after digging around, pulled out a pretty looking Yukata. Kaisa looked at her and she blushed.

"I bought it in Konoha…It was pretty…" Kaisa slipped her vest off and tucked it into her bag as her remaining teammate, the one who never talked, took his vest off, and sliced the bandages off of his arms and legs.

"We have to leave our bags here. We can find food in Iwagakure, but these are shinobi issued bags that can be recognized across the countries." Tomo said, Kaisa nodded and used a small earth jutsu to dig a hole, covering it again when everyone had deposited their bags into it.

The security at the gates was surprisingly lacking. One look at Kaisa and her teammates and they were let in with a small crowd of people. The sight of Iwagakure was surprising enough to make Kaisa blink. It was built into the rock itself, everything looked to be one single piece, and despite the buildings being a uniformed grey-slate colour, colour was everywhere! Clothes hanging between other houses across the top of the streets, which were filled with merchants and people, shouting and buying wares.

A short woman passed by Kaisa and the redhead took a double take. Her skin was earth coloured and her hair short and curly. Another look around showed that everyone was of every size, shape, and colour. Kaisa shook her head and said,

"Tomo-san, do you feel her?" Tomo nodded slowly and pointed down the main street.

"She's close. Let's hurry." Kaisa nodded and briskly walked through the crowds, drawing nearer and nearer to Haneko, silently praying for her safety.

* * *

Byakko picked up the pace as soon as he entered through the shinobi-on-mission gates. He knew that he was being followed, and he knew that one of them must be a special tracker as muting Haneko's chakra didn't even shake them. Yosuke grumbled at having to climb the walls to get to the other door, but a glare from Byakko shut him up.

The building that he was supposed to take her to was just up ahead. It was built into the rock, as most of the buildings in Iwa were, but it had the symbol of Iwa painted in bright green, an almost blinding contrast to the dull buildings and surrounding area. Byakko shuddered with the onset of goosebumps that crawled down his back. Yosuke noticed with disinterest, readjusting his katana and pulling his oddly made haori closed.

Byakko stopped and pounded on the door. A few other people, both shinobi and citizen alike were waiting behind him. They were early enough in the day that this branch office wasn't open yet, but Byakko knew from experience, all it took was someone to bang it a few times and someone would open it. Sure enough, a small boy who looked no older than twelve, yet possessed a set of eyes hardened by battle and death opened it, staring passively as the people filed in. The citizen's didn't even stare at the girl slung over his shoulder. They had stayed off the main road, and this was the shady part of town. Such hostages and similar missions were all directed here.

The people following him were close enough to for Byakko to detect that it was three in number, if he felt hard enough that was. He pressed a hand to Haneko's back and muted her chakra so much that her heart scarcely beat. A few of the ninjas that were filing into the building looked at Byakko, most likely thinking he had killed the girl on his shoulder.

Byakko frowned and alongside Yosuke, who was starting to get antsy, walked into a smaller less noticed door to the right. A large man greeted them warmly despite the underlying threats of death and pain. He motioned for Byakko to lay Haneko out on the steel table in front of him. Two more nin's materialized out the darkness of the back of the room. They had surgical masks on and were in the process of snapping rubber gloves on.

"Hmm. From what I heard, I though this girl was supposed to be younger, with dark hair." He pushed open one of her eyelids and let them snap shut after a second.

"O well. I see that she is a Hyuuga, and that she is not branded with a seal, that was our aim. Have you at least found out her name, or was she unconscious the entire journey?" Byakko looked back in the direction of the three ninja following him.

"I'm being followed. They caught on about two days ago, but they don't have the underlying Konoha chakra feel, nor do they have the feel from Iwa. They slowed down quite considerably since I dulled this girl's chakra to near death, but you might have to deal with them." The man looked at him for a good long moment before saying, "I've got thugs to deal with them if they are indeed following you. But boy, does this mean you don't know her name? A name is a powerful tool in interrogation."

"She told me her name. It was Haneko." The man blinked.

"We only have one living Haneko on record for the Hyuuga family. Please, please, tell me this is not who I think she is." Byakko looked up at the man, the dim light caught his ruby eyes, lighting them up and although the man would never admit it, he was scared. This boy reminded him greatly of when he was a boy, and had almost died at the hands of another boy who had also possessed the white hair and ruby eyes. The man shook his head and Byakko said,

"Your first man, that large one? He grabbed the first Hyuuga he saw and made off with her. By the time I arrived he was already making a run for it. I intercepted him and took the hostage, and he stayed to delay us. I believe that he was most likely taken down by Konoha's ANBU." The man shook his head, his fingers shaking with both rage and fright.

"You didn't answer my question. Please tell me this is not Konoha's Demon Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto's daughter." Byakko didn't flinch. Instead, he silently laughed at the fate he had sealed for Iwa.

"You sealed your fate for any Hyuuga. That man married into the Hyuuga family. He is the son of the Yellow Flash, and you expected him to not respond to a member of his family being taken away the same way even if they weren't part of his immediate family? You shinobi of the rock are foolish." The man narrowed his eyes.

"You boy, had better watch your tongue before I cut it out." What the man really wanted to say hung in the air, the silence of it penetrating Byakko's mind. _You my boy may have just started a war._

The man gave a wiggle with two of his fingers and the two medics, bore down upon the unconscious girl like ravens upon rotting flesh. They poked her and prodded her, examining her eyes, testing her blood, but never once did they say something. Only looks were passed between the two. The man had waited a good ten minutes of silence before saying,

"You two may leave. Your payment for a successful mission is waiting for you at the main counter. The passcode is '0598'. Now begone, I've had enough of your faces." The man turned to walk away, and when Yosuke exited the room, Byakko spoke,

"I ask you one thing." The man stopped and turned his torso around so that he could gaze at Byakko.

"And what may that be, boy?" Byakko struggled with his words, but finally said, confidently,

"Please. I ask you to give her a painless and quick death. She is just an innocent." The man raised his eyebrows before grinning menacingly.

"And what makes you think we're going to kill her?" Byakko blinked, genuinely surprised. He gaped slightly.

"W-what are you going to do? Leave her alive after you take her eyes?" The man barked out a horrible laugh.

"Oh, oh my dear boy, she'll not lose her eyes, nor her life. No, she is to mother the master clan. Imagine! A clan of Hyuuga's born and bred for fighting for Iwa! This little girl, she will be well treated for sure." Byakko let his mouth gape. The man exited, and Byakko made a move for Haneko's body. The medics stepped in front of him and pushed him out the door, forcing him to trip backwards onto the stone floor in the main hall. They closed the door behind him and locked it. Byakko let his face sink into his hands at what he had done.

Stealing eyes and then murdering was bad, but it was a ninja's job to assassinate and gather information. But what they were planning to do to the girl… It wasn't gathering information, it was rape. He had just condemned an innocent girl to a lifetime of not being worth anything more than how many children she could produce before dying. Byakko swore loudly and hit the ground with his fists. Several ninja looked in his directions, and a civilian actually asked him if he needed assistance, but Byakko had refused. He wanted to be alone.

* * *

Tomo let out a squeak of panic. Kaisa looked over so fast she heard a crik in her neck.

"What is it?" The male teammate said. Kaisa saw the blood drain from the sand kunoichi's face and suddenly felt the urge to cry.

"She… her chakra is gone. Completely. I can't locate a trace of it. She…she's… Oh Kaisa-sama…" Kaisa shook her head, refusing to believe that the girl had died.

"No. Tell me, can you take me to where you last sensed her? Maybe someone cast a genjutsu to mute her out completely." Tomo wiped the tears that had started to leak from her eyes, and weakly nodded.

"I-I can. It's over here." Kaisa let Tomo lead the way, but as they started to enter the obvious poorer side of the village, Kaisa got increasingly agitated. She kept touching the spots that she was hiding kunai as if for reassurance. Tomo lead them to a building with the Iwa symbol painted on the open door. The building looked to be some sort of office. A boy with white hair and a long red scarf that trailed behind him bumped into Kaisa, murmuring his apologies as he scampered away.

"I-I cant. I cant feel it. It just ends here. Not violently, but smoothly… I…" Tomo choked up in tears and Kaisa absentmindedly gave her an awkward hug. She was never good at the physical contact part of life.

"Well, for all that we know, she could be held in a chakra guarded prison." Tomo snivelled and stopped crying.

"Uhm, Kaisa-sama, I propose that we get a hotel near here for a few nights. They can't keep her locked up in there forever. The main prison is on the other side of the village, and if they move her, Tomo-san will pick it up." Kaisa nodded slowly at him, and let him lead the way to a shabby looking hotel across the street from. He took a room to himself, and Kaisa shared a room with Tomo. They would wait her out and spy, for that's what kunoichi's did best.

* * *

Naruto felt like crying. Sakura had agreed to take over for him for the week. She knew how to do all the paperwork still from her almost landing the job 16 years earlier. Naruto was exhausted. The ANBU that had been recovered in Suna was still there, and the description that he had given had been spread out to all of the 5 great countries, excluding Iwagakure, as that was where the perpetrator supposedly hailed from. Since then, it had been constant paperwork. He hadn't seen Hinata in three days and in the twenty minutes since Sakura had kicked him out of his office, the exhaustion set in at full force. He barely made it to the Hyuuga compound.

He barely registered various branch members flittering around him like concerned birds, but when he finally reached his room he collapsed on his bed. Beside him, Hinata squeaked with surprised. Naruto looked up at her and was shocked. She had large dark rings under her eyes and her cheeks were gaunt. She gasped at Naruto and started to cry.

"Where is my baby!?" She weakly cried, over and over into Naruto chest as he held her close, stroking her limp indigo hair. Naruto shook his head. He was on the brink of tears, and Hinata's crying didn't make it any better.

"You need some sleep, Hina-chan. You look like Gaara used to when we were kids." Hinata stopped crying long enough to choke out a small laugh. Naruto smiled softly.

"L-look who's talking. Y-you have bags that are almost touching your scars." Naruto glanced over at the mirror and didn't recognize the man staring back at him. He had three days worth of blonde stubble growing from his face, and true to Hinata's word, the dark bags under his eyes almost reached the thick whisker marks that marked him a Jinchuuriki.

"Let's get some sleep. Sakura is covering me for the week. I intend to sleep for a whole day, and then eat some nice hot Ichiraku ramen, and train, and then sleep more!" Hinata smiled sadly.

"I suppose I could join you. I haven't been able to sleep since…" Naruto hugged her again.

"It's ok. Kaisa-chan has Suna's best chakra tracker with her. She'll find our girl, and bring her back safely." Hinata nodded and let Naruto tuck her in before removing his shirt and cuddling close to her. Both adults, extremely exhausted, hadn't even been able to say 'goodnight' before they were asleep.

* * *

End Chapter 6

I'm sorry for the lame chapter. I didn't really plan on how Haneko got to Iwa, and what happened when she got there, other than in passing thought. THE REAL ACTION IS NEXT CHAPTER. Muahahaha!

Reveiws are loved! And suggestions on what character to update on and fill with are totally accepted (unless they mess with the plot)! So share your thoughts and ideas!

Mog, with love.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Opening her pale eyes, Haneko saw no one in the dingy little room. She sat up and immediately regretted it. Her entire body felt like a bruise, with most of the pain streaming from her stomach. Lifting the over sized dress her captors had put her in she winced at the large black and blue bruise that covered most of her stomach.

Slowly leaning back onto the small bed, she started, but didn't move, when someone opened the bars to her 'cage' as she calls it, and dropped a plate of food and a canteen of lukewarm water on the drab carpet.

The room she was in was more like a drab apartment than a prison, except that it lacked a window and had bars that cut her off from nearly half of the room. She had a small bed with thin and lumpy blankets, and a small bathroom that didn't have a shower. She had to wash with the sink and a torn cloth she found tucked behind the toilet. The carpet was a dirty red colour with dark yellow patterns woven into it. Near the door was a large dark coloured stain that she preferred not to think about, but tracing the patterns with her eyes proved to solve her boredom on her first day here.

The food was plain, potatoes and carrots with some bad quality meat and a lump of hard to chew cheese. A stale bun and lukewarm water tossed to the side to wash it all down. Plain, but the four basic food groups essential to keep her at least semi-healthy.

Spooning the mush into her mouth she was slightly repulsed, but she was served the meal three times a day every since she had woken up in the small prison. Her first meal was extravagant. She remembered that. Piles of food and fresh vegetables. Seems they had been trying to win her trust. Haneko chewed slowly thinking back to a week prior.

_She was incredibly hungry when she woke up. The pile of food that a relatively good looking man was holding didn't make it any worse. She was suspicious when he set it down on the ground and sat down, inviting her to it, but the intense hunger won her over._

_Haneko did let him start to eat first. He knew she was suspecting poison, so he reassured her, and ate from all sides of the pile. He was pleasant, she thought. Friendly and a lot more talkative than Byakko. Haneko was almost sad when he left._

_The man continued to come with her meals, three times a day, every day. He sat and talked to her, although Haneko noted that he was very touchy. He liked to have a hand on hers, or on her knee to get her attention. She didn't know if she minded or not, she knew some people were like that, Sasami was with her brother. It wasn't until a few days, 6 or so had passed, when everything changed._

_"Hello Haneko-chan. Hungry?" He said, his voice deep. Haneko blushed a bit. He really was quite handsome once you got to know him._

_"A little…" He laughed and set down her food, sitting alongside her. Haneko blushed a bit and ate a strawberry. The man was tense. That put Haneko on guard. He was never usually this tense._

_"Is something wrong? You're so tense!" The man paused, hesitating before shaking his head. He smiled and said, _

_"Nothing. I was just admiring how beautiful you are. The red of your hair sets your eyes off splendidly. I was thinking about pulling some strings and maybe getting some better clothes for you, I'm sure you don't like that rag that these people put you in." Haneko blushed again and shook her head._

_"You speak like you don't belong… Are you sure everything is all right?" He sighed and leaned into Haneko, letting her head rest on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist._

_"I am loyal to this village. I love Iwa. I love being a ninja, but sometimes the motives of the Tsuchikage confuse me. Take it from me, my parents have told me that the last one was a bloodthirsty maniac, and that the Godaime is a much more sensible man, but sometimes…you know…" Haneko nodded her head. The air was warm in the apartment and all of the food was making her drowsy._

_He started to talk again, but Haneko realized that his words were muffled. She tried to open her eyes and realized that she had been drugged. She tried to back away from the man, but his arm felt like steel and her body felt like a wet noodle._

_"Now, my girl, we're going to have some fun. Time to start the neo-Hyuuga clan!" Haneko threw up, both from his words and the pressure on her stomach. The man had tackled her onto the small bed and was in the process of ripping her drabby dress off before Haneko started to regain her senses. She quickly figured that she had thrown the drug up and gathered chakra into her knee. The man paused when he felt her gather chakra, but it didn't last long as she kneed him very, very hard in the groin. The man didn't even get to groan as he passed out from the sheer pain. _

_Haneko weakly pushed him off of her and looked at him, activating her eyes with what remained of her chakra. She had used what could be considered jyuuken. She had probably sterilized the man, if whatever she had kicked could ever be recovered._

_A lump in her throat formed after she released her byakugan. Haneko realized what he had been trying to do, and started to cry. Men burst into the room and started yelling about the man on the floor, but Haneko only heard noises. It wasn't until they started to beat her did she finally slip into unconsciousness._

* * *

Striding down the streets angrily, Byakko slipped quietly into the black market industry section of Iwa. His ruby eyes caught a certain man and the man hurried away. He led Byakko on a goose chase for nearly an hour before the boy got fed up and cornered him.

"A-ah…Byakko-san. How can I do you service today?" Byakko threw a bag of money at his feet and crossed his arms.

"I have enough money, now give her to me. I promised her I'd settle this without bloodshed, but you're pushing my limits." The man grabbed the bag greedily and ran his fat little fingers through the coins and notes.

"Hmm, now? With this much, you could buy a much better girl than her. She's plain and doesn't listen." Byakko's face darkened and he clenched his fists.

"You…are sorely close to making me snap. I suggest you hand her over or I'll use you to paint these walls." The man gulped. He broke out in cold sweat and said, avoiding Byakko's eyes,

"W-well, you see…There's a p-problem…" The fat man found himself pushed against the wall, a sharp steel kunai pressed against his neck, dangerously close to drawing blood.

"Problem?" Byakko snarled. The man gave a shuddered little cry.

"She…someone bought her." Byakko dropped the knife and let the man go. He sagged against the wall and sighed in relief, clutching his throat.

"To who. And where?" The man shrugged, but Byakko lanced him with killing intent. As a civilian, he stood no chance. The man fell to his knees sweating and crying.

"I don't know who! Some dark man with a big cape!"

"Where!" Byakko shouted, the man whimpered.

"I-I don't remember!"

"Well I suggest you remember quickly or this will be your last day!" The man fell to the ground whimpering under Byakko's killing intent.

"Kusa! He said Kusa!" Byakko frowned and kicked the man's head, leaving him unconscious in the alley after relieving him of his valuables.

Byakko was furious. He was staying in a run down hotel near the building. The entire purpose of his stay in Iwa was ruined because of that one dreadful man. Ruined!  
"Idzuna…I'm so sorry…" the white haired boy moaned, dropping his tired head into his arms. He stayed there for a few hours, dozing and dreaming of a girl with sandy hair and emerald eyes.

* * *

It was dark when he woke. A loud _thump_ from next door sounded and Byakko sighed. It was what he got for staying in a cheap hotel like this. More noise, and a muffled scream. Byakko frowned. He stood up, pushing his chair back with his legs and quietly slinked towards the wall. He put his ear to the wall but withdrew it quickly when something was tossed right where his head was.

* * *

Kaisa woke abruptly when something hit the ground. She opened her turquoise eyes and rubbed them. The room was dark, but the moon was shining. She blearily looked at where the sound had come from and gasped.

The room was only light in one place, thanks to the moon. Laying on the cheap bed was Tomo, her eyes wide and blank with death. A second look showed the hilt of a kunai sticking out of her chest. Kaisa watched as a trickle of blood made its way out of the corner of her mouth. Tears gathered to her eyes, and Kaisa, for a fleeting moment, remembered that this was the first time something had made her cry since that time she had thought Kouden was dead when she was four.

A moment in the shadows behind the body of Tomo caught Kaisa's attention. A flicker in the moonlight and the redhead quickly moved her head, successfully dodging the kunai, which thudded into the wall. The shadow used the distraction to rush over to Kaisa. A hand, large and calloused covered her mouth just as she started to shout.

It was a man, Kaisa could tell that much, but for the first time in her shinobi career, she cursed the fact that she was a kunoichi. He was bigger and stronger and she was unable to struggle or get her hands into seals for jutsu.

Her anger dissolved into fear when the man raised another kunai, intent on finishing his job. She struggled, closing her eyes and crying out. She felt him move his arm downward, but her eyes shot open when the moving was stopped abruptly.

Someone, she couldn't see them in the dark, was holding his arm back. The attacker's arm shook, and then slackened, letting the kunai fall harmlessly to the ground with a clatter. The attacker let go of Kaisa and she stumbled back, rubbing her arms while eyeing her rescuer.

The attacker fell into the light and Kaisa gasped. She pointed and said,

"R-ranshin! How could you?!" Ranshin scowled and held his arm. A handprint of dark, blistered skin had appeared where the rescuer, a young man, as Kaisa could see faintly now, had grabbed him.

Ranshin didn't say anything but rushed at the young man instead. The boy was prepared with a kunai of his own, but the mere size and power that Ranshin had over him pushed him back a few steps. Ranshin tried to swing a punch in the boy's direction but the boy dodged and delivered a punch of his own that struck home. Ranshin clutched his stomach, but recovered in no time. He slid into a stance that Kaisa did not recognize, but one that the boy did.

Ranshin tensed, about to make a move on to the boy, when a pair of slender hands wrapped around his forehead and chin. Ranshin paused long enough to look up when the hands moved and snapped his neck with a dull _crick_. Ranshin dropped to the ground revealing a half dressed Kaisa.

* * *

Kaisa sighed and sat back onto the boy's bed, after he graciously offered it to her. She looked over to him casually. He was not overly tall. Taller than her, but a lot of people were. His eyes were dark, hard to tell what colour in the candle light, and his hair was light. Blonde maybe, Kaisa was thinking.

He was laying the body of her former teammate onto the other, unused bed. Her eyes were now shut, and the boy covered her face with a blanket.

"What is your name? I would like to know whom I owe a life debt too." The boy gave a small smile and pulled his blood stained shirt over his head. Kaisa's eyes were drawn to the tattoos that were on his stomach and over his heart. They were faded black spirals with symbols and squiggles that Kaisa recognized as sealing symbols. Her mouth wanted to gape but she kept a calm composure.

"Byakko." Kaisa's attention was drawn back to Byakko's face when he slid into another shirt.

"I am Sabaku no Kaisa and I humbly thank you." Byakko smiled again and turned to her fallen comrade.

"You called that man Ranshin… Was he an acquaintance?" Kaisa frowned, her eyes narrowed.

"He was our comrade. The third part of our team, and a valued tracker. I don't know what possessed him to betray us…"

"He was a spy." Kaisa's attention snapped back to Byakko. Byakko continued, "I've seen him here before. I've taken a mission with him before. He's not the nicest of men, but he was dependable…or so I had thought at the time." Kaisa felt numb. She had almost lost her life because she couldn't tell who was good and who wasn't… She was all of a sudden wary of the boy who had saved her.

"What did you do to his arm? I did not hear you say any jutsu…" Byakko nodded his head.

"I withdrew the chakra in his skin, leaving it lifeless. It's something like a burn, but it heals quicker and scars less. It is also something that requires chakra only, something like walking on walls or on water." Kaisa nodded. Her next question rolling on her tongue like a marble.

"If it is not to personal a question, may I ask what those seals on your stomach and chest are for?" Byakko looked at Kaisa with alarm.

"It's a bit personal, Sabaku-san." Kaisa nodded respectfully, but couldn't help but saying,

"You know… Those seals look an awful lot like the seal they use on Jinchuurikis…if you are one, please, I am not judgemental. In fact, I'm writing a book and any information… what?" Kaisa faded off as Byakko was laughing quietly.

"I'm not a Jinchuuriki, miss. I can tell you that for sure." Kaisa felt like blushing, but looked down instead. Byakko sensed her discomfort and changed the subject.

"If you want, you can stay here with your comrade for the night. I'll sleep on the floor. In the morning I'll inform the manager that there was an attack on one of his customers. He is experienced in this kind of thing. He'll have it cleaned up." Kaisa nodded gratefully. The whole ordeal had left her exhausted. She heard Byakko pull out a sleeping bag, or a pallet, or something to sleep on, but soon fell asleep.

* * *

Morning came entirely too early. Sun shone onto Kaisa, warming her face before welcoming her into a new day. She opened her eyes and jumped in surprise. Tomo's form stood out from under the blankets. Blood had leaked through, but it looked dark and dried. The pallet on the floor was empty. She was alone, and took this chance to pull out the small scroll that Kyuubi had had her make to summon the foxes.

Cutting her thumb she swiped it across the seal on the paper and a poof of smoke appeared, revealing three fox kits. She had yet to figure out how to summon one at a time, but that was for later.

"Good morning Kaisa-sama!" Ichi and San chirped in unison. Ni followed a second later. Kaisa smiled and stroked their heads. Ichi whimpered and sniffed the air.

"Kaisa-sama…I smell a lot of blood coming from Tomo-sama…is she ok? And where is Ranshin-sama?" Ni and Ichi whined when they each took a whiff of the air. Kaisa frowned and pointed at Tomo's body.

"Tomo was killed last night by the traitor Ranshin. I advise you not to refer to him so adoringly in the future." The three foxes gasped in union. Even Ni understood the severity of this situation.

"Are you alright Kaisa-sama?" Ichi asked, Ni copied her a second later. Kaisa nodded.

"He did try to kill me too, but a boy named Byakko saved me in time." Ni jumped a little bit and said, catching Kaisa off guard,

"As in White Tiger or White Fox?" Kaisa hesitated; momentarily surprised that Ni put together a sentence all by herself.

"I don't know…But I can feel him close by, so you guys better get back to the scroll. I'll ask, and tell you later." Ichi and San nodded and poofed out of existence. Ni struggled a bit but managed to puff out just before Byakko opened the door.

"Good morning. I hope you slept somewhat decently." Kaisa was about to respond when the colour of his hair struck her. White, and ruby red eyes to boot. The colour drained from her face when she realized just who this was. Her knife was out in a flash and she had the boy pressed against the wall, blade at throat before he could blink.

"W-what? What are you doing?" Kaisa gritted her teeth and pressed the blade hard enough to draw blood. Byakko winced and Kaisa growled out,

"Where…Where is she?" Byakko's pale skin lost the rest of his colour. He recognized her chakra. She had been the one following him.

"W-who?" Kaisa tightened her grip on Byakko's shirt, pressing him harder into the wall.

"Ha…ne…KO!" Byakko shut his eyes. When he opened them, he frowned and said,

"Sorry, I can't tell you that. But I can apologize." Kaisa frowned."For what?"

"For this." Byakko grabbed onto her head with both of his hands and Kaisa moved to slice his throat, but found her arms hanging useless at her sides, her body feeling more and more like jelly. She watched Byakko look at her with sad eyes before hurrying out of the room, leaving her to slip into unconsciousness on the floor.

* * *

End Chapter 7

For the record, Ranshin means 'Traitor' in Japanese. Tsktsk Kaisa, you should have paid more attention ;D

Lol, actually, if you guys are ever bored, go look up the names of all of the random OC's that I've had in my stories, they are all puns in some sort of way. Like, both Kaisa and Sado mean sand in some way. Touya and Sayuri are flowers…and anyone remember in Mokushita, when Ganjou had called Katoki(when he was still Katoki) Kato? Kato meant tadpole, which was a pun that no one picked up on. I do a lot f research into names ;D

ANYWAY. ACTION! I PROMISED YOU GUYS. :HEARTSTOALL:

Mog


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Byakko swore to himself as he tried to calmly walk away form his room. Kaisa wasn't going to be unconscious for long; he had only taken the chakra away from the motor functions part of her brain. He couldn't believe that he hadn't recognized her chakra earlier. A mistake like that could have cost him his life. Byakko rubbed his throat and grimaced.

It was well into morning. Almost noon. His feet took him into the building with the Iwa symbol on the doors, and he didn't realize what he was doing until he found himself zoning in on a familiar chakra signature.  
He blinked. A plan suddenly formed into his head and confidence took up a place in his feet. He turned a corner and smacked right into a taller man who almost dropped the plate of slop that he had been carrying.

"Hey! Watch it!" Byakko didn't say anything as he quickly slapped his hand over the man's face, sucking the chakra out of his brain in a similar way he had done to that Kaisa woman. The man toppled without a sound and Byakko caught the food before it fell. There was no doubt in his mind whom this food was for, as he could only feel a few chakra signatures, and only one felt like a prisoner.

After shoving the body of the unconscious man into the nearest closet, Byakko quickly henge'd into a rough likeness. The hall wasn't very well lit. He carried the tray to the end of the hall and nodded at the guard who kindly unlocked the door for him.

After entering the room, Byakko at first saw nothing, but when the familiar girl sat up, his chest tightened and he couldn't help but smile with relief. The girl on the other hand frowned.

"Oh it's you again." She said blandly. Byakko blinked. He forgot that he was still wearing his henge. The boy dropped the jutsu and placed the food down on a beaten up table beside the door.

Haneko swung her legs off the side of the bed she was on and stiffly stood up. Byakko winced. Her face was a mess of bruises. Black eyes and a split lip seemed to dominate the rest injuries, but small scrapes were apparent on her cheekbones and jaw. Her shoulders, arms, and legs were also covered in black, blue, and green blotches; Byakko was sure there were more under the dingy grey dress she wore.

"Listen, Haneko. I only have a few minutes, so I need to talk without interruption." Haneko looked bewildered but she nodded quickly, coming up to the cage bars, leaning onto them for support.

"I need your eyes to help me find someone, and I'm going to break you out of here to do it; but I need you to be absolutely quiet and listen to anything and everything I say, otherwise we will both be killed." Haneko narrowed her white eyes. Byakko tried to not think about what might have happened for her to have been beaten so badly.

"What's in it for me?"

"I'll escort you home personally. I'll protect you until you're on your Mother's doorstep." Haneko's eyes started to tear up and she nodded as she wiped them away.

"Alright. Please, just get me out of here." Byakko nodded and leaned down onto the large lock that held her prison shut. A few clicks rang out loudly in the silent room and the lock fell off with a dull thud on the carpet.

"Can you make a kage bunshin? Do you have enough chakra?" Haneko stumbled out of the cage and nodded.

"It'll take up most of my chakra though." Byakko helped her up.

"I can lend you enough to escape, and then we can take a good long rest to let you heal up. I don't know any medical jutsu's though, I'm sorry." Haneko waved her hand and flashed through the seals she had seen her father do many times before.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" She whispered hoarsely. Another Haneko popped into existence and walked back into the cage without a sound. Haneko drooped, but Byakko caught her. He placed his hand on her stomach and pumped nearly all of his own chakra into her. Her eyes widened from the rush, and her clone wobbled around before finally collapsing on the bed.

"Ok, I'm going to teach you a new jutsu. It's easy to learn, and shouldn't take you more than one or two tries to get it down enough for now. It's called Watashi wa Fumonifusu no jutsu; ignore me technique. It makes people look around you. As long as you don't talk, they won't notice you, even if you are right in front of them." Haneko nodded and copied the hand seals from Byakko.

"Uh- watashi wa fumonifusu no jutsu!" Haneko lowered her hands and looked up at Byakko. He was looking beyond her head.

"H-hello?" Byakko's attention snapped back onto Haneko, but even though he could see her, looking at her felt like grease, always sliding away. She didn't put enough chakra into it, as he could still concentrate and see her.

"Kai." He said. She was clear again. Haneko looked up into his eyes. Byakko shook his head.

"You need about twice as much chakra to pull that off for a good ten minutes while we leave. Hurry. It's been too long for just a food break. We have to leave, but don't talk. If you talk, people will notice you, and the effects will start to wear off." Haneko nodded quickly and performed the jutsu again. This time, even knowing that she was in front of him, Byakko could hardly see her. He transformed into the man again, and she put her arm on his arm. He could feel her, but not see her.

"Good. Let's go." Haneko nodded and he led her out the door. The guard looked at Byakko and said,

"What took you so long?" He vaguely heard her sigh quietly in relief. He shot a warning look in her direction, but covered it up as a backwards glance.

"Oh you know, chatting her up. Maybe getting on her good side, if you know what I mean." The guard chuckled.

"I know. I'd love a piece of that myself, but unfortunately, she goes to the good clans, or whoever pays the highest price." Haneko stiffened, but held her voice. Byakko sensed, more than saw, and gave a curt nod before hurrying away. As soon as no one was in the hall, he dropped the henge and said,

"Large hall, try not to bump into people. Stay close." Haneko pulled in closer and Byakko expertly wove her in and out of the noonday crowd in the large building. Haneko was dimly aware of her bruised body hurting with each step, but the adrenaline of escaping allowed her temporary release.

It wasn't until they stepped out into the city street did Haneko's heart skip a beat. She felt Byakko's body stiffen and looked up at him.

"Ah…That woman. We need to leave before she sees…ah, too late. Run!" Byakko reeled into a run as a red haired woman that Haneko was very glad to see started after Byakko. Momentary hesitation plagued Haneko. Kaisa would bring her home, but Byakko had rescued her and needed her help in payment. She bit her lip. Shaking her head apologetically, she ran after Byakko.

* * *

Kaisa woke long before she was able to move. The sun hadn't moved at all. So she hadn't been out for very long. Her fingers and toes gained feeling first, and then her arms and legs. She was able to stand after a while, albeit a bit wobbly.

Snatching her supplies up, she jumped out the window and praised Kami that it was on the first floor. Feeling around for the boy's chakra, she felt that he was fairly close, but her mind was still foggy from whatever he had done to her.

She almost fell over when she saw him coming out of the large Iwa symbol building when she turned a corner. He stiffened, and she knew he saw her. Something else bothered her mind. She felt like she was missing something, but couldn't say what for the life of her.

Running towards him at a slower pace, thanks to the jelly like feeling in her legs, she was dismayed when he took off full speed. Kaisa slowed to a power walk and focused her entire mind on memorizing his chakra signature. When she was sure that she would never forget it, she sat down beside a building and stared in the direction that he ran, breathing heavily, and massaging her legs with her still wobbly arms.

He had gotten away this time, but never again. Kaisa would find Haneko and bring her home. Although, she figured she could use this time to write Naruto a letter, despite not knowing where Haneko was. Digging a piece of parchment out, and smoothing it on her lap, she morbidly laughed at how she never had a chance to ask Byakko what his name meant.

* * *

Byakko quickly reached the gate, still paranoid that Kaisa was following him, he kept looking over his shoulder. They were halfway out the shinobi exit when a crawling feeling crept up Haneko's spine. Hazy memories rushed into her head, and Haneko's eyes widened. She tugged on Byakko's shirt, and he looked down at her almost immediately understanding the urgency in her eyes.

As soon as they were out of sight of the gates, Byakko stopped.

"Did they destroy the clone?" Haneko nodded. She was struggling to keep up with him, due to the chakra that Byakko had given her was being used up faster than normal.

"You can drop the jutsu. No one will question two people running out here, its normal." Haneko gasped as she released the jutsu, and Byakko's eyes snapped onto Haneko's face. He winced. It was midday and the sun was at its highest, showing every bruise and cut that she had clearly.

Haneko still hurt. Everything hurt now even worse thanks to the adrenaline of escaping leaving her. She touched her lip and pulled her finger away with blood on it. The spit had reopened. Shivering unwillingly, the colder weather of Iwa was starting to get to her, and she raked her mind for a way to get warm when Byakko settled his large warm scarf around her neck.

"It'll have to do until we come across the next little village. If we run full speed, it's only an hour away. Think you can make it?" Haneko nodded and muzzled into the scarf. It was warm from his body heat and covered most of her shoulders.

The two sped off, Haneko trying desperately to keep up despite her injuries, and true to Byakko's word, a little more than an hour later they were in sight of a rather large village. Not nearly as large as Iwa, but still large for a non-shinobi village. Byakko turned to her and said gently and quietly,

"I want you to find a nice tree top and sit and relax. Try to stay out of sight. Your bruises are very noticeable. I'll buy you some clothes and some food. Anything else you want?" Haneko looked down a bit and blushed.

"A-any chance I could get a small mirror? I want to see how much damage they did." Byakko frowned but nodded, speeding away when Haneko turned to find herself a tree.

Haneko had been sitting comfortable in an old maple when Byakko popped up in front of her face quite suddenly making her start and nearly lose her grip on the branch.

"H-hey! Watch it!" She said, Byakko grinned. He offered her a bag and motioned her for her to look inside. A loaf of bread, some dried meats and fruits, and clothes. Real clothes! Taking a quick bite of the bread, she pulled out the clothes and looked them over.

"I didn't know your size so I guessed…" Haneko shook her head.

"No, don't worry, I'm grateful beyond your imagination…Now, do you mind giving me a minute? I'm freezing." Byakko laughed, dropping out of the tree while Haneko changed. When she climbed down, Byakko's breath caught in his throat and he coughed, hiding his blush. Haneko held her arms out and twirled around.

"A bit big, but nice and warm!" He had gotten her a sleeveless shirt that buttoned up to her chin, and a thick coat to go overtop. Baggy pants that stopped mid-calf reminded her of what Tenten used to wear in pictures of her youth. She held out Byakko's scarf, and he gratefully took it back, wrapping it around his neck. He too wore different clothes; a thicker jacket over top the shirt he was wearing before, and longer forest green coloured pants.

"Shall we sit and eat? I know of a place nearby we can camp out for the night. Give you some time to rest and recover." Haneko looked down and blushed. Embarrassed she was being such a burden.

"S-sure…" Byakko watched her impassively for a moment before turning and walking towards the 'secret hideout'. Haneko laughed nervously as Byakko set down his bags in the small and cramped cave he had chosen. It was near a small waterfall, and there was a pool of cold water near the back, but there was barely enough room for two people to occupy it, much less sleep in it.

"It's small, smaller than usual with you here now, but don't worry. My mother gave me a blanket scroll. It's useless for anything other than camping, but it makes things super warm and comfortable, and it reduces the risk of being caught with a fire." Haneko looked up at her saviour as he pulled out a scroll and fumbled around with hand seals before slapping his palms down onto the paper. A poof filled the cave with smoke, but when it cleared, Haneko saw piles of clean, warm blankets and pillows. It wasn't until then did she realize how tired she was.

* * *

Naruto stared at the piece of parchment in his hands. He was feeling mixed feelings at the moment, and the squabble of his grandchildren at the moment were giving him a headache. He stood up and Kaede looked at him, searching for his loving smile, but Naruto partially ignored her. Kaede frowned. She was only seven years old, but she knew when her grandfather needed to work. Scooping up her siblings, she trotted carefully out into the hall where her mother and father were arguing about something.

"Kaede?" Sasami asked, picking up her twins. Kaede blushed and shrugged.

"Jiji is in serious mode again. I thought that I should leave." Kouden smiled and patted his daughter on the head. He walked past her into his father's office with a sigh.

"Kouden. Read this." Kouden blinked as Naruto tossed a scroll his way.

"Naruto-sama, I have good news and bad. My team-mate, Tomo, was murdered by our other team-mate, who turned out to be a traitor and a spy. Please send my regards to her family, and tell them that I will personally apologize. A proper Suna burial is not possible, but she is resting in a proper place with a marked stone. I found Haneko's napper. He goes by the name of Byakko, or at least, an alias. He is a few inches taller than myself, with a large red scarf and sealing tattoos on his stomach and chest. He is not a Jinchuuriki. Seeing as he stopped my other team-mate from murdering me cold blood, I did not realize who it was until morning came, and I now feel ashamed for engaging in small talk. He can absorb other people's chakra quite efficiently, and with a mere hand on my head, he had disabled me. Use caution. He seems the kind of person to spare a life rather than kill. I cannot sense Haneko's chakra in this village anymore, but when it left, it left gradually. I believe that they have moved her out of the village. I will continue to pursue Byakko in hopes that I can get some information out of him at least. Sabaku no Kaisa." Kouden finished; his mouth a mixture of relief and grim realization. He rubbed the back of his head, and set the scroll on Naruto's desk, watching as tension filled his father.

"It's regrettable about her teammates; the fact that your sister is alive still is the most important fact. This was dated yesterday morning. There's still hope." Naruto left off and Kouden waited a few minutes before saying,

"I'll tell Oka-san. She'll be happy. I'll leave out Tomo-san's fate." Naruto nodded.

"Hinata isn't well right now. The stress of losing her daughter and her sister in the same day would do that to anyone." Kouden nodded solemnly and left quietly, explaining to his children that they were going to see their grandmother, and left quickly.

Naruto locked his office door and pulled out a large bottle of sake. He needed to be alone, and he needed to be numb. After the first sip, he was irritably reminded of Tsunade and her sake antics while in office. He laid his head down on his desk and swam through the memories of the woman that he had thought of as his mother for most of his life.

A single tear slipped down his scarred cheek, and Naruto sighed loudly.

* * *

End Chapter 8

Wtf? So sad D; O well. Sorry. Sick, grounded, I got bit on the finger by a rat, so for the past few days, (it's bearable now) I've had to type with out my right index finger, and I made a lot of mistakes.

btw, don't worry about the whole bite thing, I work at a pet store, and she was pregnant and mad. ;D

Mog


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Haneko woke to the smell of something roasting and her mouth involuntarily watered. She snuggled deeper into the sea of fluffy blankets and moaned. She was still sore, but the comfort of sleeping helped. Sitting up slowly, she spied Byakko eating a leg of what looked like rabbit. He grunted a greeting around his rabbit and offered her a piece. It tasted like magic.

"How?" She asked, indicating the lack of fire. Byakko looked at her and swallowed.

"Katon." Haneko nodded and picked off more meat. They ate in relative silence, but Haneko decided to break it after a few minutes.

"So…Who are you again? Why did you rescue me?" Byakko blinked.

"What?"

"Who are you?" Byakko sighed loudly and dropped his head.

"Haneko, what were you doing before you were in that cell?" Haneko shrugged and said, 

"Last I remember, I was sitting on top of Jii-sama's head crying about my aunt with Hiro…Oh, Hiro-kun, I hope he's ok…" Byakko shook his head.

"Dammit. I had hoped that since you acted so normally it didn't happen." Haneko leaned forward.

"What happened?" Byakko looked up at her, her eyes were wide, and debated on whether or not to tell her that he was the one who kidnapped her. Sighing again, he said, 

"It's been almost three weeks since you were kidnapped. You are in Iwa, and I guess I did the jutsu wrong. You don't remember anything of getting here do you?" Haneko's eyes were wide.

"Three weeks?" She sputtered. Byakko nodded. 

"My mother must be worried." Byakko leaned back a bit.

"She must." Another awkward silence.

"So… you still haven't told me who you are…" Byakko grinned.

"Well, technically I have, but," he grabbed her hand and kissed it, "I am Byakko. It is an honour to be your saviour." Haneko raised a brow. 

"Saviour? I don't think I'd go that far." Byakko looked at her and they both laughed. Byakko bit back a blush, her laugh was like silver bells. 

"You know, I think I have some ointment that would make your bruises heal faster, did you want some?" Haneko sighed.

"Is it that bad looking?" Byakko pulled out the mirror he had meant to give her the previous day. She took it and gasped, tenderly touching the large bruises that covered both her eyes and one of her cheeks. Her lips were spilt twice, but had already scabbed and mostly healed.

"Ugh. Even if I heal fast, this will take a while to get better. Weeks even. I'll take that ointment if you have it." Byakko dug around in his pockets for a few minutes before pulling out a small container. He moved over in front of Haneko and gently rubbed the ointment onto her bruises.

"If I hurt you please say something." Haneko nodded, hoping her bruises covered her blush. Byakko's fingers were relaxing and gentle. She was almost disappointed when he finished.

"Um, I can get the bruises on your back for you if you want, but I think that you might want to do any others." Haneko blushed harder to match Byakko's. She took her jacket off, and after making Byakko close his eyes, she took her shirt off, hugging it to her chest.

The white haired boy's fingers were just as gentle and soothing on her back. She stiffened slightly when he neared what she thought was a cut.

"Sorry." He said. Haneko shook her head.

"Don't be. Is there a cut there?" Byakko paused before gently touching beside it.

"Yes, but I can see it healing with my own eyes…amazing!" Haneko nodded.

"It focuses more on the cuts than the bruises I guess." Byakko pulled out the last of the gauze he had and wound it around her back and chest, with Haneko's help, until it covered the cut. After he had finished putting the ointment on her back, she pulled her shirt over her head and applied to her stomach. Byakko winced when he saw the large dark bruise brooding on her stomach.

"So…Um…Can I ask how you got those?" Haneko didn't look up.

"Uhh, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to…" Haneko shook her head.

"I thought that he was being nice. He treated me with wonderful food everyday and he talked to me, told me about his family, his life, his dreams, his goals. But then… He drugged me. Thankfully, he pushed on my stomach and I threw up the drug. I jyuuken-kneed him where it hurts the most, and I think I probably sterilized him." Byakko's eyes were wide. He inched away from the girl, and she gave a giggle.

"So can I know more about why you rescued me? You told me that you rescued me to help you." Byakko's face went serious and Haneko frowned slightly.

"We need to rescue a girl named Idzuna. She's in Kusagakure." Haneko sat back and wrapped a blanket around her. The tone in his voice suggested that the girl meant something to him. The redhead berated herself for the small flutterings of jealousy that arose I her abdomen.

"Alright. Can I have a description of her? Family name? Personality? Anything?" Byakko's frown lifted and he said, 

"Mmm… She's taller than you are and she has sandy hair and bright green eyes. She's sassy, that's for sure." Byakko laughed slightly when he said this, causing Haneko to frown even more.

"Well, it's midday… I think we should keep going. We have a few longs days ahead of us. If you can, we could make it to Kusa in a week, with non stop running. But, I think it will take us closer to two…" Haneko frowned again, disappointment and embarrassment weighed upon her shoulders.

"Yea…Let's go." Byakko nodded and sealed all the blankets away. He took both of their bags, but when Haneko protested, he just looked at her. She quieted down and moped.

* * *

Miles and miles away, a slight girl with green eyes sneezed, stirring the dust in the crowded little room she shared with several other women of various ages. One of the women cracked open an amber eye to glare at her and the girl shrunk back into herself.

Bringing her knees to her chest, she stared at the slit of a window and silently cried, wishing for home and a white haired boy to protect her.

* * *

Sado scuffed the ground in front of him. He had a new hole in his jacket, and it was all thanks to his stupid classmates. A small hut that contained all of his sister's foxes came into view, and his spirits lifted.

When he walked in most of the kits rushed up to the edge of the kennel. He threw some treats in and let out his favourite fox. A vixen who was still young, only 2 years old, but had shown a lot of promise in the fighting category. Sado didn't care about fighting with animals, he liked her as a pet, and she was fine with that.

Rolling onto her belly, Sado laughed as he scratched her stomach. The shiny new hiteate that hung around his neck clinked with the zipper on his jacket. He had passed the test to become a genin fairly easily. He lacked talent in the genjutsu area, but he had heard from his father that Naruto did as well, and Naruto was like a god to Sado.

Tomorrow he would meet his sensei, and they would train to get to know each other better. No genin tests here, there were more than enough teachers willing to take on students. Ever since the war when his father was a child, Suna had been making sure that everyone got as equal a chance as possible.

Tomorrow he would pick his weapon. As a boy, he was excited about that. His mother used twine, and his father used sand. His aunt used a fan, as did Kaisa, once in a while. He didn't know what to pick. Sado, along with the rest of the new genins had been mulling this over for the last month.

The vixen barked, and Sado's attention was brought back to the world in front of him. Giving the vixen one last rub, he ushered her back into her kennel and sprinted home.

* * *

The hair on Byakko's arms rose as he saw the border of Rock country and Grass country come into view. The border was fenced, and the only entrance was guarded heavily. A small caravan of what looked like vagabonds or nomads were having their caravan searched, as well as every bag and case they had in possession.

"I guess the alliance between Kusa and Tsuchi isn't as great as we all thought…" Byakko looked back at Haneko and sighed.

"They never have been. I guess the news didn't reach down to Konoha." Haneko paused and shook her head.

"War, shinobi or civil, is pointless." Byakko sighed. He squatted and drew what appeared to be a rough map of Tsuchikuni, Amekuni, and Kusakuni. 

"We can try to get through the gates there…letting the guards search us, but you're still bruised up pretty bad. If we detour through the rain country, they have an open border to grass. What do you say." Haneko slid a cool hand across her face. Despite the week it had taken for them to reach the border, her face was still a mar of greenish yellow bruises. She shook her head and said, 

"I say we take the long way. You're probably a wanted man, and signs are probably all over for me, seeing as I was a very important mission." Byakko nodded and stood up. Swiping a foot over the drawings in the dirt, he turned in the direction of Amekuni and said,

"To Rain we go." As if on cue, Haneko felt a droplet of rain hit her cheek, slowly rolling down to her chin.

* * *

The detour had given Haneko a chance to heal. Both Byakko and Haneko regretted that they were not able to heal as well as a medic nin.

It had started to rain long before the tops of the skyscrapers came into view. Overly large plants and trees dotted the landscapes, and the road was muddy where it was not paved. The one thing that had taken Haneko back was the sheer amount of people that lived in this city. Konoha was a shinobi based city. The number of active and inactive shinobi out-numbered civilians by a 2-1 ratio, yet, as Haneko noticed, she barely saw any shinobi at all, much less shops for supplies. Byakko noted her surprise and once they got in reach of the city, he leaned down and said, 

"Ame is larger than Konoha in size, but has less than a quarter of the ninja, or so I heard." Haneko nodded distantly, she was still taking in the sights and sounds of the rain dampened city.

The first inn they saw was a not-too-shabby three story sliver, stuck between two large buildings. The interior was nice, but Haneko was too tired to notice. The constant rain was starting to depress her already.

"How can I help you two lovely children?" Haneko started to bristle at being called a child, but Byakko grabbed her hand and squeezed none too gently. She glared at him, but he didn't let go.

"How much is a room for the night?" The innkeeper, without so much as a blink replied, 

"300 ryo for a double room, 200 for a single." Byakko eyed the man warily and shelled out the money for a single room. The man bowed and smiled a toothy grin as he handed the two a dull brass key.

Their room was on the top floor, and with only a dull light bulb to light the hall started to creep Haneko out. When they finally reached their room, Haneko flung herself on the bed and let out an exhausted sigh. Byakko dropped their wet bags on the floor with a _squish_ and turned to the red headed girl rolling in the thin blankets.

"This place is a dump." Haneko stopped rolling, but the contented smile on her face didn't go away.

"It's better than outside." Byakko rolled his eyes and Haneko continued her rolling. There was a small fireplace, odd for an inn like this, but not something either of the fugitives would complain about. Byakko stared at the fire for a while before speaking, catching Haneko off guard which resulted in a start from her.

"He was staring at you." Haneko shook her head.

"I'm covered in bruises. I'd stare at me too." Byakko looked back, the firelight shining off of his ruby eyes. His hair was fine and starting to frizz from drying by the fire. 

"He wasn't staring at your bruises, and he had that look in his eyes." Haneko knit her brows. She tightened the grip on one of the massive blankets her rescuer had summoned and burrowed her chin deeper.

"What do you mean, that look in his eyes." Byakko gazed at Haneko until she moved her vision before saying, 

"He had the same look that despicable man had for Idzuna." His voice was dead and cold, it frightened Haneko, and also sparked something in the back of her head. Ignoring the tick, she laid down on the floor beside Byakko and tried to fall asleep.

"What are you doing?" He asked, staring at the girl.

"Umm, you paid for the room, you can have the bed." She said, her childhood shyness creeping back into her voice. She blushed in embarrassment and dug deeper into her blanket.

"You're injured."

"I heal, you don't." Byakko couldn't come up with another comeback so he picked Haneko up and dropped her on the bed. Haneko squealed in protest, but Byakko was stronger than he looked. His arms were like vices of steel for all that she was concerned for.

"You're mean." Byakko shook his head and flashed a grin. Haneko debated blushing, but stuck her tongue out instead, blowing a loud raspberry as Byakko sat down by the fire. 

"I need to keep watch. I don't want anyone surprising us. All you need is someone to kidnap you again." Haneko pursed her lips.

"B-Byakko-san, do you know who kidnapped me in the first place?" Byakko stiffened, but shook his head after a second.

"I don't, I'm sorry. But please, call me Byakko…" Haneko smiled weakly.

"Thank you for rescuing me, Byakko-kun…" The Hyuuga was sleeping soundly not a minute later.

* * *

_Her shoulder hurt, and Haneko cried out in pain. She tried opening her eyes, but everything was fuzzy and swirling. The only thing she could focus on was a fuzzy white shape that was closing in on her. She tried to scream, but nothing came out._

_Flicker_

_It was too easy to talk to this boy. She felt much too comfortable in his presence; something that her instincts told her was not that great of a thing to feel._

_Flicker_

_She was delighted to be walking at last, but when she questioned why the white haired boy wasn't knocking her unconscious again, he mumbled something about 'damaging merchandise', which made her frown, and Yosuke yelled out that she was just plainly too fat, which resulted with her foot, painfully making contact with his groin. She smirked with satisfaction. That kick felt good to her, payback for the ones he delivered earlier._

_Snap._

* * *

Haneko's eyes snapped open. The firelight was flickering on the gray walls of the cheap inn. Byakko was bent over, but still sitting. Light snores indicated he was sleeping. Their door was ajar and through the messy colours and words of her dreams, Haneko focused her white eyes on the dark mass that had made it's way over to Byakko.

Haneko froze with fear. She saw the figure raise it's arm. A kunai flashed in the firelight, and streak down. Haneko shut her eyes tightly and felt her fists collide with something hard. A loud _thump_ made her open them again, and she recoiled at what she saw.

Byakko jumped back, falling onto his back, and cracking his head against the wall. Rubbing the wound furiously, he saw Haneko, standing over him, staring at the fallen man at her feet. Haneko dropped her arms and fell to her knees. Byakko stopped rubbing his head and put his hand on her shoulder. Haneko flinched and Byakko pulled back.

"I-Is he dead?" she asked unsteadily. Byakko laid his finger on the hefty man's, whom he now recognized at the clerk, neck. No pulse. Byakko nodded and Haneko lifted her hands up.

"I… I didn't mean to put so much chakra… I… Right on his heart, I felt it sever…oh…Oh kami-sama…" She placed her hands on her cheeks and started to sob. Byakko pushed the man away from her and wrapped his arms around her. She struggled at first, but soon fell into Byakko's chest.

"Was this your first?" Haneko sobbed harder and nodded. Byakko nodded.

"It'll be fine. The first kill is always the hardest." Haneko pulled back and looked up at Byakko, her tears clouded her eyes enough to make the boy appear to her as a fuzzy white shape. Her pale eyes widened, and she clenched her hand over her mouth. Rushing to the small bathroom she threw up loudly, over and over until she was sure there was nothing left from _last week_ in her stomach.

Byakko dragged the body out into the hall and shoved it into a broom closet. He went back into the room, intent on rubbing Haneko's back to help with the nauseousness, but instead found the cold blade of a kunai pressed up to his neck. He smirked at the dejavu.

"It was…you…I trusted you…" Byakko knitted his brows together. Backing up against a wall, Haneko pressed the kunai harder, drawing a drop of blood against his pale skin. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her cheeks had an unhealthy flush in them.

"Haneko…Calm down…what are you doing?" Haneko started to cry again.

"It was you… You and that man with the curly hair… You took me from my family!" Byakko blanched. Why did she have to remember now? He slowly lifted his hand to hers and gently placed it on top of hers. Haneko flinched again, nearly slicing Byakko's throat. Byakko hissed slightly, but tightened his grip.

"Please, Haneko…" Haneko shook her head, tears still spilling out of her eyes.

"Please drop the knife… I don't mean you any harm…I rescued you!" Haneko lightened the pressure slightly but said through a myriad of tears, 

"You knew what they were going to do… Why did you do it?" Byakko gulped.

"It was just a mission. You were just a nameless face… I thought they were just going to take your eyes…I didn't know. I didn't know…" Haneko pulled the Kunai back and pointed it at his heart instead.

"Didn't know what?" Her tears had mostly stopped. She was wiping them away with her bruised wrists and Byakko brought his other hand up to envelop the kunai-holding hand completely, gently turning the point to the side, away from anyone.

"They weren't going to kill you. Instead, they were going to breed you. Create a new Hyuuga Clan in Iwa. Use them as soliders. That's wrong, and I needed your help anyway." Haneko pulled her hand out of his and said, her voice dripping with spite and anger, 

"To save _Idzuna, _I know." Byakko was confused. He rested his hands gently on her arms and pulled her into a hug. Haneko blushed, making the bruises on her face stand out more. Byakko blushed at his forwardness.

"Please, Haneko… You are under a lot of stress, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my life. Now please sleep… Tomorrow we have to find some passes to get into Kusa…" Haneko nodded wearily and let the white haired boy set her gently in the single bed. She was sleeping before her head hit the pillow. Byakko smiled and brushed a lock of her wild red hair out of her face, gently brushing the mole under her eye.

* * *

Chapter 9 End

Oh man, that was cheesy. But yay! Some angsty-fluff! The best kind. ;D Reviews are loved and appreciated! So are character requests! I'm always looking for ways to make the chapters longer!

Mog


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Haneko chewed on the end of her pencil. She wanted to pour her heart out on to this piece of paper, but the need to word it carefully conflicted with her heart. Withdrawing the pencil from her mouth, she looked at the ruined eraser and sighed.

_Dear Tou-san,_

_I'm alive and well. I am currently travelling with my client in a mission that I can safely rank as an A-class. I know how worried Mama and you must be, so please, let this ease your hearts. My kidnapper, as I'm sure you know from Kaisa, is a boy named Byakko. But what she doesn't know, is that this boy saved my life. _

_Before you argue, you must remember that Byakko was a loyal Iwa-nin, just doing a job. Shinobi are tools. If you want to blame someone, blame the men who hired him. Although, that is something he will not discuss with me._

_Anyway, Byakko rescued me when he found out that I was not to be killed, but bred, and for that I am thankful. In return, however, he has hired me to rescue a girl, as he says that my eyes will make his job much easier and with fewer casualties. He says he will return me to you in one piece, and he was not lying, I checked._

_Byakko told me that if you want, you can send a letter back to me with the carrier, but other than that, there is no way to contact me, so please call Kaisa off. I felt her occasionally, but she disappeared. No doubt to try and trap us._

_ Please tell Hiro that I'm OK, and tell me if he is OK. It's been eating at me. Tell my teammates that I'm OK, and tell Mama that I love her. Tell Kouden that I'm sorry that he has to take all my duties, and tell Sasami that I miss her and the kids already._

_I love you, _

_Hyuuga Haneko_

"How are you going to get this to Tou-chan?" Byakko sat down beside Haneko and gave her a sly grin. Performing several seals Byakko cut his thumb and slammed his hand down onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A large puff of smoke blasted Haneko right in the face, making her cough violently. When she was finished choking on the air, she looked towards Byakko's feet and nearly melted with cute.

A white fluffy fox shook its fur and whined. It was no larger than a small dog, but its fur made it look bigger. Haneko squealed and embraced the fox, much to both Byakko and the fox's displeasure.

"Gin-chan! Haneko, let him go, you're strangling him!" Haneko threw a desperate glare at Byakko but let the fox go. Gin wobbled on his feet before sitting down and shaking his head, making gasping noises.

Haneko reached out to pet his fuzzy little head again when Gin whipped his head around.

"Oi! Do I look like a stuffed animal to you! What the hell is wrong with you lady?" Haneko looked over at Byakko who looked a bit embarrassed.

"Maah Gin-chan, how many times have I told you to stop speaking like that? It's not very polite…" Gin whipped his head towards Byakko.

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me Gin-chan? I'm almost an adult now, see, look! Two tails!" Gin flashed out too equally fluffy white tails, and Haneko suppressed the urge to squeeze the daylights out of him.

"W-well… Any way, I need you for a mission. Here, take this letter to the Hokage in Konohagakure." Gin narrowed his black eyes and took the letter into his mouth, muttering obscenities as he scampered away. Haneko followed the fox with her eyes before saying,

"Um…?" Byakko looked over his shoulder at her and stood up.

"Um what?" Haneko made a face.

"So I guess that means your name means White Fox, rather than White Tiger?" Byakko stared at her for a second before bursting out in laughter.

* * *

Kaisa felt Byakko's chakra fade towards the south. They were definitely in Ame, but, as she flashed her multipass, something told her they were taking the long way around to Kusagakure. She knew the border was closed, and she knew that Byakko was a wanted man.

As the guards searched her bags, Kaisa absentmindedly stared off towards the south at Byakko's almost diminished chakra trail. Although Kaisa was not a tracker by any means, it almost felt to her as if Byakko was pulling chakra out of the air itself.

The border guard stuffed Kaisa's bag into her arms, and Kaisa snapped back to reality. She had a good day's walk until she reached Kusagakure. Once there she would contact Naruto and request backup.

* * *

The walk to Kusa took longer than she had anticipated, and when she finally reached Kusagakure, it was not something she expected. Rolling hills of grass, a few sparse trees, and more grass was all that Kaisa saw for a long, long time. In fact, she almost missed Kusa all together. Hidden Village indeed. She spotted a few children disappearing over a hill, and decided to follow them, seeing as they were running away from the road. Topping the hill, she gasped. Kusa was not large, but it was bustling with activity. Many more people than buildings were walking around the various markets.

Walking into the city, she noticed right away that the plain black kimono Temari had given her was sticking out. Everyone was wearing plain shirts and pants, even the few ninjas she could see. People were watching her as she advanced down the main street. Finally stopping at a fruit stand, she asked the man who ran it,

"Excuse me… Do you know of a place I could buy some clothes?" The man eyed her up and down, and Kaisa felt irritation stirring in her stomach.

"You're a ninja, no? You look it. It's fine, if you really want some new clothes, try the underground." Kaisa knitted her brows.

"U-underground?" The man laughed at her.

"You come to visit Kusa and you didna research it? Follow za flow and take the stairs down." Kaisa raised her eyebrows, gave a bow, and murmured a thanks.

The flow, as it turns out, was a river that ran right in between the hills and buildings. Children played in it, and women did their laundry, but other than that, it was a fairly clean river. She followed it, and was surprised to see that it dropped off into a hole. On the other side of the hole, people were trickling in and out.

The stairs leading into the hole were stone and sturdy. The water was roaring down beside her, and Kaisa felt damp from the droplets. After descending into the hole, Kaisa gasped, and a few people behind her grumbled, nudging her forward.

* * *

Naruto stared at the piece of paper in his hands. It was dated a few days past, and aside from the wet edges and teeth marks, was in relatively good condition.

At first, he thought it was a hoax, but only Haneko marked her maru's in a heart shape instead of a circle. Resisting the urge to crumple the paper, he instead laid it gently on his desk. The potty-mouthed white fox that was, thankfully, sleeping at the moment, had brought it in, after being chased and caught by a few ANBU who thought it odd that an arctic fox was roaming around.

_**He smells of her, you know. So I don't think that the letter is lying…although, we have the scent of her kidnapper now too. Mistake on his part.**_ Naruto sighed and rested his head on his desk. Despite Haneko being taken away, Hinata was finally starting to act normal in a way. She slept, and walked around, ate normally, but she barely talked anymore. Naruto was eerily reminded of 16 years past, when they were informed of the supposed death of Kouden.

_I know, I know. Kaisa wants backup, but Haneko says this is a mission now. I suppose, that I'll have to treat it as one, since she a Konoha Shinobi._ He heard Kyuubi rumble in something that Naruto associated with a purr, despite Kyuubi vehemently denying it.

_**That brat smells like old Uro. **__  
Uro?__**  
An…acquaintance of mine. It's been a long time. I haven't seen him since I was but a 5 tail. He was 3 tailed at the time.**_

_Another demon fox? _Mentally, Kyuubi shook his great head.

_**No. You're only a so called demon when you reach 9 tails. Since I'm still alive, I'm the only one. He's probably 8 tailed by now though. So…Think of him as a summon, like Gamabunta, except, he isn't, and he lives in the wild.**_

_Huh. Does that mean Oyabin is a demon frog?_ Kyuubi laughed at Naruto's inquisitive nature.

_**Technically, yes. But he gave up the right to tromp around in nature and let himself and his kin be sealed in the summoning world. He lives there, and thus, his clan as well. Uro lives in the wild, and until now, I was pretty sure that none of his clan was summonable.**_

Naruto sighed again. Pressing a small button on his desk, a small speaker gave a sharp tone that woke the small fox. From the speaker a female voice filled the room.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Kinusaya-chan, can you send up Kaede-chan? I know she waiting down there. Send her Mother up as well, please."  
"H-hai… Hokage-sama, can I ask you a favour?" Naruto raised a brow.

"Of course." Silence, and then,

"Why do you call me that?" Naruto laughed, and the poor girl at the other end blushed horribly.

"Because your hair is the colour of peas! And I… Uh, I forgot your name and was too embarrassed to ask for it." Kinusaya faced herself on her desk, and her partner laughed at her.

"Th-thank you sir…and my real name is Chiyo. It's not that hard to remember…" Naruto laughed again, and Chiyo waved Sasami and Kaede inside.

"Otou-chan! You shaved! You look rested too. Is everything ok?" Naruto smiled warmly at his daughter in law and granddaughter. He opened his mouth to speak, but a smaller voice with an accent beat him to it.

"Yo! I'm trying to sleep here! And you, brat! Don't you think about touching my tails!" Naruto and Sasami both frowned at the small fox that was currently dodging Kaede's quick movements.

"Just ignore him. Now, I know that today is babysitting day, so when you leave, can you take this to Hinata-chan? I think it will help bring her back to life. Don't read it though, Hinata will tell you if you can or not." Sasami saluted, and with a kiss on her daughter's head, she swiftly dropped out of the window with the grace of the ninja she was at heart.

"Now, Kaede-chan Let's put your hair into ponytails!" Kaede laughed wildly and ran into Naruto's legs, while the small fox grumbled and fell back asleep.

* * *

End Chapter 10

Sorry, so so short. I meant to get it up last weekend, but school got in the way. But good news! I am done school forever now, but I have to start work fulltime. And I would have had this done much sooner, but my Greatgramma died. Ah I know this isn't done, but it's something.

Next chapter I'll try to make it extra long ;D_  
_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

"H-How long?" Haneko stammered, her mouth agape, and her cheeks flushed with a mixture of rage and hopelessness. Byakko, more composed, kept his cheeks unflushed, but otherwise reacted the same way.

"I'm sorry, Nara-san, Tanaka-san, but these things take time. Despite the reputation Pein-sama gained, no one can deny that he helped the country immensely. Your passes will be ready in 8 business days." Haneko deflated. The constant pattering of the rain had been getting on her nerves, and the constant awkward feelings that accompanied the close quarters she shared with her white haired companion was fraying her already tense nerves.

Byakko took her hand in his and bowed, slipping into their façade as easily as if it were true. Haneko bowed, and let Byakko lead her out of the building into the ever constant rain. Haneko, off in her own world, didn't notice that Byakko hadn't let go of her hand until she saw another couple, walking tightly against each other huddled under a flimsy umbrella. Looking at Byakko out of the corner of her eye, she blushed and wiggled her fingers. Byakko looked at her and let go of her hand, letting his own drop down to his side.

The loss of warmth almost made the Hyuuga grab for his hand again, but instead, she pulled it up to her chest, undoing the first button on her Tenten-styled jacket that Byakko had graciously picked up for her.

It didn't take long for the pair to make their way back to the hotel they were staying in. This one was on the other side of town, and unlike the last one, had no eerie feeling to it what so ever. So far, no attempts on either of their lives had been committed, much to Haneko's relief.

"Is there something on your mind?" Haneko asked softly, as Byakko stripped his wet jacket off, depositing it in a lump on the floor. Haneko ignored the urge to pick the jacket up and put it some where to dry as she watched the boy's pale and fine features. Byakko looked at her pensively, as if hesitating with his words.

"I'm thinking about when this is all over." Haneko tilted her head, motioning him to go on.

"After we rescue Idzuna, I promised to take you home. But I'm pretty sure your father would kill me on the spot." Haneko frowned. Her father had a fearsome reputation, but he was kind, and not one to kill someone on the spot, unless he had a very good reason.

"I don't see why he would do that. He's a fair man, always willing to give his enemies a chance." Byakko held her gaze for a few seconds, and Haneko almost cried out at the fleeting hope that he quickly dashed from his eyes. He sat down on the bed beside her and Haneko shifted as the weight dipped the bed lower.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to hate me for it? I mean, you can get mad, but as long as you forgive me for it?" Haneko frowned deeply before nodding slowly.

"When I was still taking you to Iwa, when you sent that flare into the sky, a group of six ANBU ambushed us. I dispatched them all and fled. That's why I was covered in blood that day." Haneko blinked, and then she stood up, avoiding eye contact.

"Death is sad, but it is part of our job. I understand that you were hired to do this. But before this processes fully into my mind, how on earth did you defeat six ANBU? Aren't you like, a chuunin or something?" Byakko stared at the girl in front of him.

"You… Uh…" Haneko stared at him expectantly.

"A kekkei genkai. It's not overly powerful, but useful when surprising people." Haneko was immediately interested. She sat back down beside him and motioned for him to explain.

"Ehh, it's a long story." Haneko snorted.

"And I have forever." Byakko sighed and smiled tiredly at the girl, causing her to blush and setting off the cuteness alarms in his head.

* * *

Pacing the small room she was paying for, Kaisa picked the letter up again and read it over and over. Despite her constant reading, the content never changed, causing the red head to grind her teeth in anger and frustration.

_Sabaku no Kaisa, _

_I have reviewed your request for backup, and due to some unforeseen circumstances that I –regretfully- cannot discuss with you due to shinobi privacy policies, I cannot send you backup. And while I recognize that I do not have the proper authority to tell you this, I ask you as a friend to go home to your family. Your mission is over._

_Sincerely, Uzumaki Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage._

The first thought that ran through Kaisa's head was that Haneko had been found dead, because she was certain that Naruto would have mentioned her being alive. The second thought that persisted was that she was could still feel Byakko's chakra lingering around when she concentrated, and mission or not, she was going after him.

But backup would have been nice. Gaara himself was another option, but the shame of losing a team mate and valuable tracker to a traitor that she herself had not found until too late was too pressing, and Kaisa was not about to risk someone else in this mission.

Besides, Kaisa felt she owed Kouden for his friendship. With that thought lingering in her mind, Kaisa blushed and looked around, relieved that she was by herself. She had always admired Kouden from afar, but admiration was the extent of her crush. Kaisa had always known that he was going to end up with Sasami, and acknowledging that, she hoped a friendship could be made.

Glancing at the letter on her bed again, she narrowed her eyes at the accursed piece of paper and then at the window. Something clicked in her mind, and Kaisa strode out of the room, leaving the letter behind. Stomping out of the building and into the massive underground city that Kusa had turned out to be, she wandered around until she found the enormous spiral staircase that led up to the surface.

Long rolling hills of grass greeted her, along with the sun, causing her to squint for a few minutes as she made her way towards the edge of the village.

* * *

Kaisa grinned to herself as she felt Byakko's chakra get stronger after a few hours of a brisk run. Her grin was quickly wiped when she saw dark clouds hovering above her head. Despite her many visits to Konoha, the young woman had never gotten used to rain. And when the first drops splattered onto her skin, she shivered.

Barely and hour later and Kaisa was soaked to the skin, and very, very miserable. Due to the dark, low clouds that followed the sand-dwelling ninja, Kaisa decided to stop and make camp while there was still some light. Some sparse trees had come into view, and thankfully for Kaisa, she had found a rather large maple standing by itself, and camped underneath it, the maple's large leaves partially protecting her from the constant rain.

The small fire that had taken Kaisa much longer that she would have anticipated to start brought warmth to her cold body. She heated some water and drank it before succumbing to sleep.

When she woke the sun was shining and the sky was picture perfect with marshmallow clouds painted upon a sea of blue that rivalled Naruto's eyes. Water was still dripping off the leaves and the embers from Kaisa's fire were smouldering still. A few prods of a stick and the fire was roaring again, taking the last of the morning chill out of the dessert kunoichi.

Refreshed and energized, Kaisa took off at a speedy pace, even for a ninja, and by the time night came, the first of the tall buildings in the village hidden in rain were visible above the gentle rolls of the terrain.

* * *

Gaara gazed out at the vast sandy village that sprawled out beneath his office as he absentmindedly signed another piece of paper. He had no word from Kaisa since she had sent a message informing of her teammate's deaths. Matsuri was especially worried about the effect it was having on Sado. The poor boy spent all of his time training with Kaisa's foxes or pestering his aunt to train him or tell him stories of his long dead uncle Kankuro.

The redhaired Kazekage sighed and wondered how his daughter was faring when the door slammed open, causing his sand to rustle around him, and the messenger to hesitate.  
"Godaime-sama…We have a message from Hokage-sama!" Gaara stood up and motioned the man to take him to the code room. The man didn't lead, but instead said,

"Godaime-sama… It wasn't coded. It just said to recall all efforts to look for Haneko-sama." Naruto's missing daughter was the word of the villagers at the moment, and nearly everyone was following word of it like old women with gossip.

Gaara felt his heart drop. Naruto would have mentioned her being found alive if that were the case.

"Did the message say anything else?" He asked, a touch of sadness entering his usually empty voice. The man, barely into his twenties nodded slightly and said,

"He asked to hold off on any kind of events about it until he had things figured out." Gaara knitted his brow inside of his head. His real face remained blank and was starting to unnerve the messenger. Gaara finally nodded and moved back to his seat.

"Alright. Please send Baki-sensei to me immediately." The messenger nodded and sprinted out of his office with the ease of a shinobi.

Putting his face in his hands, he frowned heavily. When Baki arrived, he would have his old teacher arrange for all of the various search parties he had sent out to be brought home, and for all of his various spy networks to stop looking. Gaara sighed. This would be the second time that Naruto has lost a child and Gaara thanked whatever god was watching him that he was blessed with the good luck bestowed upon his family.

* * *

At the same time, Ditama Keii unfurled the scroll from his sister's father-in-law, Konoha's Hokage, and his own jounin sensei. Reading it, he sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair.

"Sensei, I thought you were supposed to be lucky…" Thinking of times that "Katoki" had brought him to casinos on missions as a child he smiled sadly at the outrageous amounts of money they had won, causing the blonde to gain a reputation almost as famous as Tsunade the "legendary sucker".

"Keii…?" Keii looked to the door and saw his wife standing in frame cradling their son. Pink tufts flocked the top of the little boy's head. Smiling, the Raikage motioned for her to come closer.

"Is everything alright?" Keii gazed at the fair haired woman for a long while before saying sadly,

"Sensei has sent me a message telling me to stop the searching and the spy network." His wife sighed loudly and handed Kuzaku to his father so she could wipe a tear that had started to form. Kuzaku gurgled in his father's arms and Keii couldn't help but smile.

"Did he say anything else?" Keii looked up into the teary grey eyes of his wife and shook his head, letting Kuzaku grab his finger with his tiny hands.

"A tragedy." Was the only thing she said as she laid a kiss onto Keii's head and left the office. Keii didn't realize that she had tricked him into babysitting until she was too far away to call her back.

* * *

End Chapter 11

D; I'm sorry. I really am. I had an excuse that I could have used like, two months ago, but I just never got around to finishing this chapter. Next chapter should be MUCH MUCH sooner and longer, I promise : )

For those wondering my excuse, it was a combination of graduating, moving out, going to Montreal for a week, getting fired, getting a new job two hours later, getting engaged, setting up and taking down a leaky fishtank three times (soon to be four), and getting a kitten ;D

Thanks to all those who stayed with me :') It means a lot to me.

Mog


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

* * *

Byakko sat on the creaky bed in the dank room he and Haneko had to share. Haneko, on the other hand, sat on the floor against the wall, facing him with her milky stare.

"So explain." She said pointedly. Byakko pursed his lips and sighed.

"You're not going to let me get out of this are you?" He asked weakly. Haneko let a small grin tug her lips before shaking her head.

"C'mon. I promise I won't tell anyone. Here, let's start with it's name."

"It doesn't have a name. No one has ever heard it before, and my parents didn't even know that my real father had it until they figured that he was where I got it from." Haneko looked slightly surprised, but motioned for him to go on. Byakko rubbed the back of his head, messing his hair, and making Haneko giggle.

"Well, for starters, like I said before, it's not very strong. You know how everyone has an element that they are born with? Sometimes two if your bloodline calls for it." Haneko nodded and Byakko continued.

"Well, I don't have one. No element. The power of all my elemental jutsus are the same as each other. But that doesn't make them more powerful. You are a water elemental, right? Well, let's say you try to use a fire jutsu. All of my jutsu will be at the same power of that." Haneko frowned.

"Well, that doesn't seem like a good thing. Aren't kekkei genkai's supposed to enhance?" Byakko nodded as Haneko spoke, a grin spreading across his face.

"Yes! And mine does! It substantially increased my chakra control through it's abilities. I can move chakra easier. Like you have probably noticed, I've been absorbing most of the chakra trails we leave, and with that binding I used earlier on you, I can absorb other people's chakra easily. I can also give other people chakra a lot easier than most. To me and to others I have used it on, my chakra feels like oil going through their systems. Like, it's really slippery feeling and easy going. The reverse benefactor is that I receive chakra well, but so far that just helps in healing." Haneko quirked an eyebrow.

"So far? Has it been bad?" Byakko blushed and broke the intense eye contact that Haneko had been holding with him. Leaning back he hesitated.

"Well, don't laugh, but I become more susceptible to element jutsus. More specifically, lighting really gets me bad." Haneko made a muffling sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"I said don't laugh!" Byakko whipped his head around only to see the red head shoving her fist in her mouth.

"I can't…help it! All I can imagine is you with frizzy hair!" Byakko rolled his eyes and laid back on the bed.  
"Well, if you are going to do nothing but laugh at me, I'm going to bed." Haneko stopped abruptly.

"It's the afternoon!"

"Fine! I won't laugh! What kind of physical characteristics does it have then? What about that tattoo you have on your chest? Does that have anything to do with it?" Byakko sat back up, not smiling.

"No, that's a different story entirely. Physical characteristics? My white hair and my red eyes. Apparently, my father once overheard my real father talking about me before I was born, saying that the bloodline would only manifest if I had silver hair and red eyes." Haneko leaned forwards onto her knees.

"That's way more interesting that my eyes. All we can do is see stuff." Haneko stuck her tongue out and looked away.  
"Nah, I think that's pretty cool. The lack of pupils is neat though. I like your eyes." Haneko blushed.

"R-really? I used to get teased a lot as a kid, that is, until my over protective brother stepped in." Haneko made a face and Byakko laughed. Silence settled over the room. Haneko was staring at Byakko's chest, trying to find the right words to ask. Byakko noticed and shifted on his bed.

"Do you really want to know what the tattoos are for?" He asked, startling the red headed girl in front of him. She looked him in the eyes and with the seriousness and maturity of someone much older, she nodded.

"It involves death." He said. Haneko just shook her head.

"Go on, please." Byakko nodded and took his shirt off. Haneko blushed for the 100th time that evening, but looked at the designs. There was one above his heart, and another over his belly, vaguely similar to Naruto's own seal.

"Those seals… Are you… Are you a Jinchuuriki?" Byakko stared at Haneko.

"You know, Kaisa-san asked me the same the thing before I rescued you." Haneko looked confused, but Byakko continued.

"No, I'm not. The thing that was sealed away in me were human souls, not demonic."  
"Ehh?" A small look of horror crept onto Haneko's face.  
"Well, my parents won't tell me anything more, but I figured out on my own that when I dig into the chakra that they store, they are elemental based. It's kinda like they are artificial affinities." Haneko was silent for a moment, processing what her companion had just told her.

"Can you show me?" Byakko looked at her sceptically.

"Serious? Can't we just go to bed?" Haneko frowned.

"It's the afternoon. And yes, I'm serious. What elements do you have running through those seals?" Byakko frowned slightly and held out both hands.

The seal above his heart started to glow dimly, and a ball of water hovered in his left hand. His left hand filled with dust after a moment, and Haneko looked upon in awe.

"Oh wow… I can't even do that with water… And hey wait. How did you know that I was a water type?" Byakko dropped the dust and the water, splashing the Hyuuga, and smiled.

"I could feel it when I was using your chakra to feed my own." Haneko frowned and stood up, smacking the back of her companion's head before turning to face the window.

"Three more days in this rain. I think I'll go crazy." Byakko frowned and laid back onto his bed.

"Well, at least you aren't alone." Haneko looked back and smiled gently, causing the white haired boy to blush.

A tapping at their window caused the pair to look up. Byakko was surprised to see a soaking wet and miserable looking white fox hanging off the ledge of the windowsill. He quickly undid the lock and let the summoned creature in.

Gin dropped onto the floor in a soaking wet, lumpy mess. He made his way to the bed and before anyone could stop him, slid under the covers, ruining the bed.

"Gin…" Byakko sighed. Said fox glared at him before spitting out a small scroll that Haneko hastily picked up.

"Byakko, I hate you." Byakko blinked and sighed again. Of all summons his chakra chose this one. Putting his face in his palm, he waved at Gin dismissively and the fox grumbled before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Excuse him, he's always grumpy. I wish I had called his twin up, she's a lot more…" The white haired boy waved his hands around to emphasis the word he could not find.

"More…what? Mean? Cute? Nice?" Byakko snapped and pointed at Haneko.

"Nice and cute. You would love her." Haneko smiled before peering down at the parchment in front of her. Sprawled across the side of it, underneath the seal of the leaf, was her name, slightly bitten, slobbered, and rained on. Haneko used her thumb to pop the seal and gave the scroll a shake before unrolling it, successfully splashing Byakko with water and fox slobber.

_"Haneko, when you get back, I expect you to have a very good reason for this. Your Mother is overjoyed at that you are alive, but not too happy that you are on a mission. I expect this "Byakko" to be in attendance when you get home. You're grounded. Love Dad."_

Byakko was smiling. Haneko was not. Looking up at her client she said, sounding mortified,

"Grounded?" Byakko couldn't hold in the chuckle, causing the red haired Hyuuga to glare at him.

"I get kidnapped, and when rescued I choose to the help the rescuer instead of run back home like a coward, and he grounds me? Who does he think he is? I'm a shinobi! An adult in the laws of the village… I…Arrgg!" Byakko, biting his lips to keep the bubbles of laughter in.

"Well, he is your father, and the Hokage of the leaf village…" Haneko threw the parchment at Byakko and hit him square between the eyes, causing the fair haired boy to fall backwards into the soggy bed laughing the whole time. Pointing a slender and accusing finger at Byakko, Haneko said in a heated voice,

"I hate you." Byakko ignored her, laughing too hard to make sense of anything. Haneko stormed out the door, making sure to slam it as loud as she could. She smirked as she heard his laughter cease, and carried the smug look out of the hotel into the streets. What she didn't know, was that Byakko had not stopped laughing. In fact, he was laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe.

* * *

Kaisa flashed her pass with a pleasant smile directed at the village hidden in rain's wall guard. Said guard winked back, and Kaisa felt her face heat up. She quickly covered it up and hurried into the "village". Looking around, she was amazed at the height of the buildings. Skyscrapers surrounded her and multitudes of waterline pipes made her seem like the foreigner she was. Out of the corner of her eye she saw an old lady walk by shaking her head and smiling.

Kaisa walked slowly through the city, taking in all the sights and sounds. She could feel Byakko's chakra in the distance, but it was wavering. Kaisa figured he was trying to hide it.

The first inn that her eyes caught was a narrow but tall building. The manager, reading a magazine behind the front counter looked up before putting his reading material down and giving Kaisa a greasy smile that made her feel at unease.  
"How can I help you, young lady?" He asked, trying to sound smooth, but only succeeding in creeping Kaisa out. Kaisa hesitated, did she really want to stay at a place like this? Another moment passed, and the manager started to look agitated. Kaisa nodded quickly and the manager's greasy smile returned. After money was exchanged for keys, Kaisa dropped her bags into her room, locked it with a jutsu her mother had taught her, and set off to explore the village. Byakko's chakra hadn't moved at all, and she figured he couldn't sense her, yet, at least. Kaisa promised herself she'd look for him…after food.  
Kaisa's stomach growled, and after asking a local where they suggested she eat, she soon arrived at a small sushi stand. Sushi was something that she didn't get to eat often, as fish was a delicacy in the desert.

It started to rain as soon as she stepped through the curtains that covered the entrance to the bar. Warm greetings welcomed her as she sat down and ordered a few random styles and flavours.

While the chef was making her food in front of her, Kaisa heard a few shouts coming from the street behind her. Peering her head out, she noticed that it was raining a lot harder than before, and the sky was so thick with clouds, that it was almost dark. The shouting was coming from a man who was throwing things, including his shoe and his newspaper, at a small dirty child with light coloured hair. Kaisa frowned as the boy ran into a street alley and the man hobbled in the mud to retrieve his shoe.  
"Miss?" Kaisa turned back to the chef and he was offering her a plate of delicious sushi. Kaisa smiled warmly and thanked the man, digging into her food.

"You know, Miss, I wouldn't concern yourself with what you just saw. Amegakure is chock full of orphans, and the orphanages are all full. The street kids know how to take care of themselves, and hate having peoples pity." Kaisa paused mid bite and slowly nodded, sparing another glance at the now empty, and very muddy road, dismaying at how she was going to have to search for Byakko in the rain.

* * *

Byakko was tense. He wasn't sure why, but something was bothering him. Haneko noticed too. Since the previous day, when he had told her about his bloodline, she had been watching him intently for signs of when he was using it, despite telling her that it was always 'on' and using it was an unconscious action most of the time.

Something was bothering Haneko too, but she had a better idea of what it was. After groggily watching Byakko peer out the window at the rainy afternoon turn into a rainy evening, she sat up from her afternoon nap and said,

"Mmm… I feel like someone I know is close by." Byakko turned back to her and said,

"What? Who?" Haneko yawned and stretched, her thin black undershirt rising up her stomach, causing blood to rush to Byakko's face.

"Mmm…I dunno." Byakko looked back out the window.

"Haneko…" Haneko sighed from behind him and said,

"You don't think Kaisa-ne-chan is still following us?" Byakko's ruby eyes widened and he slapped his face.

"Of course. Yes. I do believe she has tracked us to here." Haneko gasped and frowned.

"What are we going to do? We cant get our passes until tomorrow morning." Byakko sighed.

"We wait. I'm pretty sure I can suppress my chakra enough to confuse her for the night. Do you think you can try to suppress yours? I don't know if they taught you that yet…" Haneko frowned.

"I can, but it takes a lot out of me. Thanks to my grandfather, I have an unnaturally large reserve. Also, my father being who he is didn't help." Haneko smirked mirthlessly and Byakko turned from the window, and walked over to the bed and sat down.

"Wanna take watch while I take a nap? The office opens at 6 am, and I'de like to be gone from it at 6:01." Haneko nodded sleepily and and pulled her jacket on around her back and sat on the window sill as Byakko tucked himself into the already warm bed. He was softly sleeping within minutes.

* * *

Chapter 12 End.

Oh man, I got over the hard part that I was stuck on how Kaisa got into the village.

Now, despite this initially going to be a big part in the story, I don't think I am going to include Kaisa's foxes anymore. I keep forgetting to write them in, and they deter away from the storyline I wanted to give her. But anyway, sorry I took so long, but at least it wasn't as long as last time ;D

Mog


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

* * *

Kaisa wandered the streets. It was dank and dark out, the only light coming from the street lights. Only a few places were open this early, and even they looked tired. Dawn was only an hour or so away, and she had been following small flickers of Byakko's chakra all night, but at every turn she would lose it, only to feel it coming from somewhere else. It was confusing her, and the fact that he wasn't gone from the city yet, meant that he was waiting for something.  
Kaisa was a smart girl, and it only took her a few minutes to figure out that you couldn't get into other villages without a pass, and the fact that Byakko had tried to get into Kusa before, but was detoured, meant that he wasn't just using it as a shortcut.

So when dawn finally broke, she made her way towards the administrative centre where the passes were issued for shinobi and civilian alike.

* * *

Byakko waited with a chilly Haneko for the centre to open. Luckily for them, a worker who was kind let them in a few minutes early to get out of the cold. He and Haneko had to sign a few documents before they could be given their passes, but finally, after 15 agonizing minutes, Byakko held onto his shiny new pass and walked out of the building. Looking over at Haneko, he saw someone turn the corner down the road past her.

Kaisa couldn't believe her eyes. Her heart jumped when she saw a mop of white hair, but it stopped when she saw a shorter mop of red beside him. The realization of the tag on the back of her mind hit her full force, and she was momentarily stunned. Byakko had seen her, and he dropped his technique to hide chakra, giving Kaisa a feeling of having it wave over her.

Breaking out full speed, Byakko couldn't get out of the way in time, and Kaisa grabbed his scarf, knocking him off balance enough for him to fall to the ground. At the same time, she grabbed Haneko's arm tight enough so that she couldn't pull away.

Haneko jumped. She hadn't even noticed Kaisa until Byakko was on the ground, and Kaisa had a steel grip on her arm. Tears came to her eyes as Kaisa continued to press onto a bruise that had yet to heal.

"You! Byakko-san! You stay right there!" Byakko gulped as Kaisa put her foot on his chest to prevent him from moving. Luckily, there wasn't anyone out so early, and the trio avoided side-stares from civilians.

"K-Kaisa-ne-chan…" Haneko said, whimpering. Kaisa looked at her, immediately noticing her bruised face, and looked down at her hand, where Haneko was trying to push her grip away. She immediately let go, and gently placed her hand on Haneko's shoulder.

"Kami-sama, Haneko-san. What happened to you? Did he do this? I swear…" Kaisa was interrupted by Haneko shaking her head.

"Please…You're hurting him!" Kaisa looked down at Byakko, and indeed, she was pressing quite hard into Byakko's sternum. Lifting her foot, Byakko took a deep breath, and Haneko pulled him up, brushing the muddy footprint on his chest. Kaisa noticed this and frowned, deeply. This wasn't turning out the way she had thought it to be.

"Alright. Explanation. Haneko-san, I felt your chakra leave Iwa, presumably with your kidnappers. I followed Byakko-san to interrogate him of your whereabouts. Why on earth are you with him, instead of being a captive?" Kaisa started to shout, but quickly lowered her voice. Haneko rubbed her arm and Byakko put his hand on her waist. This action did not go unnoticed.

"He rescued me." Haneko mumbled.

"What? But he was the one who kidnapped you!" The other red head burst out. Haneko looked up into the tall woman's eyes and said, sternly,

"He found out that they were going to…breed me instead of just take my eyes. He rescued me and hired me to do a mission. My Father knows of this, as I have been in contact with him. Your mission is over, Kaisa-san." Kaisa almost winced at the honourific. Haneko, although she looked scared, was very angry.

"Fine. That makes sense, your Father told me to go home, but he didn't tell me why. I thought you had _died_. Now, please, at least tell me about your mission, and what happened to your face. The Iwa didn't…" Haneko shook her head and flushed in anger. Byakko held her closer.

"They tried, but I think I might have sterilized him. They ganged up on me and beat me badly enough that I couldn't move for almost a day. What you see now is just bruises of what was. As for my mission…" Haneko pulled herself away from Byakko a few inches and said, almost bitterly,

"I am to assist a rescue." Byakko frowned in puzzlement and Kaisa was flustered. What was she going to do now? Go home? That's it? She'd have to face the shame of Tomo's family, and Kaisa just didn't think she was ready for that.

"I'll go with you." She said, after a moment. Byakko and Haneko both stared at her.

"W-what? Kaisa-san… I don't…" Kaisa cut him off with her finger.

"No. It was my mission to bring her home, and I'm not leaving without her. I will accompany you, and when you finish your mission, I will continue mine." Haneko's mouth flapped like a fish, and Byakko looked almost angry. He patted Haneko's back and Haneko looked up at him, nodding sullenly. Kaisa felt a small gathering of chakra around Haneko's hands, and suddenly, Haneko thrust her hand up at Kaisa's face, intent on tapping a tenketsu on her forehead. Kaisa raised her hands in defence, and knocked her hands of course, resulting in hitting Kaisa's neck.

Kaisa's legs fell out from under her. Haneko gasped, kneeling down.

"A-ahh! I'm sorry! I was trying to hit your consciousness tenketsu!" Kaisa was in too much pain to reply, but she dragged her torso up, her legs were numb, but she could move them a bit.

"What did you do?" Byakko asked nervously. Haneko bit her fingernails.

"It looks like I numbed the nerves in her legs. An inch higher and I could have killed her." Byakko looked at the girl in front of him in alarm. He didn't really realize how easily she could end someone's life.

"How long until her legs are normal?" Haneko looked at Kaisa, who was tearing up from pain and frustration and rubbing her barely moving legs.

"5 or 10 minutes at best." Byakko pulled Haneko up.

"We better get going." Haneko spared Kaisa a last glance, before taking Byakko's hand and disappearing down the street, running only as a ninja could. Kaisa was left to slowly gain the feeling in her legs back and swear as loudly as she could at the retreating pair.

* * *

Kaisa was on her feet, albeit wobbly but able to run, within 2 minutes. Racing after the pair, she turned a few corners. A faster runner than either of them by far, their two minute lead wasn't all that much in an unfamiliar city. But while Haneko and Byakko were looking for something, Kaisa wasn't, unafraid to take a way that might get her lost. A few times, she saw flashes of Haneko's red hair, and Byakko's red scarf disappearing around a corner, but the pain in her legs hadn't quite receded, sometimes causing her to fumble a step and slow down a fraction.

Turning a sharp corner Kaisa saw sky blue and then pain. She felt herself rolling in the mud until she slammed into a stone wall, knocking the breath out of her. A few people hurried away, but no one stopped to help. Breathing heavily after a few moments of breathlessness, Kaisa sat up. Her knee pounded, and she looked around for the rock she had tripped on, intent on destroying it.

Instead, she gaped. A young boy with sky blue hair was laying face first in the mud, a cut across his forehead and a large bruise forming around it. She looked around for someone to help, but the only people around were already scurrying away.

She crossed the mud, ignoring the tipped baskets she had run over on her fall, and turned the boy over, pulling his surprisingly light body into her arms.

"Isn't anyone going to help me?!" She called, the boy wasn't waking, and although his pulse was strong, she was worried that his parents would be angry with her. Or street friends, this could possibly be a boy from one of those bands of orphans the Sushi chef had been talking about.

She looked in the direction of Byakko and Haneko's fading charka and shook her head. He would get a head start this time, and she knew where they were heading.

After being refused entry to the inn she had been staying at, along with several others along the way, Kaisa had made her way out of the city, and camped under some trees in a small forest an hour's jog away.

* * *

Poking the small fire with a stick, Kaisa looked over at the bundle of blankets and sweaters. The boy's clothes were tattered, torn, and caked with mud, so Kaisa had promptly discarded them, replacing his shirt with a too large, but very warm sweater. She had been appalled at the sight of the boy's chest. Every single rib stood out. His cheeks were gaunt, and his arms were beyond scrawny.

This boy was starving, and Kaisa's newfound maternal instincts kicked in. Poking the fire, and stirring the vegetable laden stew she had pulled together, she once again circled her camp, checking and re-checking the ties on her tarp (that she had 'borrowed' from the shed of an inn that refused her service), which kept the campsite dry and relatively warm. Her attention was drawn back to the bundle of blankets when it stirred and moaned.

The boy sat up quickly, and after feeling the bandage that Kaisa had wound around his temple, he felt the sweater and blankets with awe. Kaisa came back to the camp and sat down. The boy started to panic, and tried to pull the sweater off.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I don't…I d-don't remember putting this on! I-I!" Kaisa was taken aback. She shook her head, motioning for him to calm down.

"H-hey! Please calm down. I gave you that sweater; you can keep it as it is cleaner than your other clothes anyway. Are you alright? I hit you pretty hard. I hope I have cleaned it up alright, I am not very proficient in the nursing area." The boy was gaping at her. Kaisa started to fidget, and busied herself with the stew. Scooping a ladleful into a small bowl, she handed it to the boy. He took it after a few seconds and stared at it.

"Go on, eat it. It is nice and hot, it will warm you up from all of this miserable rain." The boy stared at the bowl in his hands, marvelling at the warmth it was giving off. He looked up at Kaisa and said, with large tears threatening to spill from his large violet eyes. He nodded and taking the spoon that Kaisa held for him, started to slowly eat the hot food, letting out pathetic noises of surprise and pleasure. Kaisa felt like exploding with pity. What had this boy been through?

After watching the boy devour his 3rd bowl of stew, and reach for his 4th, Kaisa finally said, in an attempt to make conversation,

"So. May I ask your name?" The boy paused, glancing at Kaisa before finishing his ladling of the soup.

"I don't have one, I've never been told." He said, any emotions fleeting out of his voice. Kaisa was surprised and concerned.

"Oh? What do people call you then?" The boy seemed to almost shrink back into himself, burying deeper into his sweater.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Kaisa tightened her lips, but nodded.

"Can I know something about you, at least?" She asked, the boy looked at her, and then at his stew.  
"I'm seven years old. My birthday was two months ago, and I live by myself." Kaisa blinked.

"If you don't mind me asking, how is it that you don't know your name, but you know your birthday?" Violet eyes started to water as the boy shovelled some more stew into his mouth.

"'Dey don't ret me foget" He mumbled over a mouthful of food. Kaisa wanted to reprimand him for eating with his mouthful, but ignored the feelings and instead said,

"Who wont let you forget?" The boy shook his head and swallowed.  
"What about you, one-sama? Why did you even bother with me?" He asked, spite crawling into his young voice.

"I ran into you, and cleaned you up. It's common courtesy." The boy stared at her and Kaisa started to fidget again. Kaisa started clearing away the bowls when the boy piped up,

"What's your name? Where are you from? You don't sound like anyone I've ever met before." Kaisa gave the boy a kind smile and the boy blushed, flustered at Kaisa's kindness.

"My name is Sabaku no Kaisa, and I am from Sunagakure." The boy frowned.

"Where's that? And what does Sakkaku mean?" Kaisa gave a smile at his mispronunciation.

"Sa-ba-ku. Sakkaku means hallucination. I am certainly not a dream. Sabaku means desert, and Sunagakure is right in the middle of it." The boy was leaning forward now, even more interested.

"What's a desert?" Kaisa frowned.

"It's a large place with nothing by sand for miles and miles. It never rains there, and is very hot. It's very different from here." Kaisa smiled sadly. She was very tired of the constant rain.

"It never rains? Wow! I really hate the rain." He made a face and Kaisa laughed.

"Me too. Maybe I can take you there one day." The boy looked hopeful and Kaisa softened.

"Hey, do you want to stay here for the night? It is warm and dry, and in the morning I will cook you a good meal before I have to leave."

"Leave? Why do you have to leave?" Kaisa sat down beside the boy and patted his muddy blue curls.

"I was tracking a pair of runaways when I ran into you."

"A-ah…I'm keeping you from them…I'm sorry." He said, frantically, almost.

"No, no you are not. I know where they are going, so I have a few days of lee way. There is no need to be sorry, little one." The boy looked up at Kaisa, her fingers still in his light blue hair, and said, with a rarely used and unpractised, but genuine smile.

"So I'm not in the way?" Kaisa smiled down at him and shook her head.

"Not at all. Now get some sleep. You look like you could use it." The boy nodded and curled up under Kaisa's spare sleeping back. With a stomach full of hot stew, and a soft warm bed, the boy was sleeping within minutes, leaving Kaisa to stew on thoughts of the pair of teenagers she was chasing.

* * *

By the time Haneko and Byakko stopped to rest, it was dark, and they were both exhausted. Too tired to even make a fire, the pair of teenagers made do with flopping down in their sleeping bags under the biggest and driest tree they could find.

Morning came all too fast, and Haneko groaned, covering her sensitive eyes from the bright white light that the currently overcast sky was creating. Rolling over, she rolled into Byakko's still sleeping body. Byakko grunted, but didn't wake up. Gazing at the soft features that graced his face, Haneko brushed a stray piece of his white hair out of his face, smiling softly.

She knew she was crushing on the boy, but being the Hokage's daughter, the red haired Hyuuga also knew very well that business relationships almost never ended well, especially those that involved ninja from two different hidden villages.

Rolling back onto her back, Haneko frowned, thinking of Byakko's Idzuna. She saw the look of love on Byakko's face whenever he mentioned her, and despite having decided early on that she wasn't going to interfere, she still felt pangs of jealously arise every once in a while. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

Byakko, who had awoken when Haneko moved his hair out of his face smiled when he heard her breathing even. The girl was something, in his books. Rolling more into Haneko, Byakko made himself comfortably flush against Haneko's sleeping bag, sharing and stealing warmth from the girl.

Reaching out with his chakra, Byakko was confused at how Kaisa's chakra disappeared. In fact, it almost felt like she hadn't even left Rain. Byakko was pretty sure that she couldn't hide her chakra enough to evade his senses, and he was positive the shinobi from the desert hadn't given up. Frowning, he pressed his head against Haneko's in an attempt to semi cuddle her. If he couldn't feel Kaisa, he was going to get some extra rest so that he could put even more distance between him and her. Byakko let his eyes drift closed and sighed contentedly.

* * *

Chapter 13 End

;D


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

* * *

Blinking slowly, a boy with sky blue hair looked up at the green tarp that was draped a few feet over him. He was warm, full, and very comfortable. Something was up. Looking down at the soft sweater, he suddenly remembered the strange and caring woman from the day before. Blushing, he fingered the sweater just as Kaisa entered the camp site.

"Oh! You're awake! How did you sleep?" The boy smiled sheepishly.

"U-uhm, very well, Kaisa-sama." Kaisa smiled lightly and put down the bundle of vegetables near the cooking pot that contained leftover soup from the previous night. Quickly cutting the vegetables up, and dumping them in the pot, Kaisa quickly rekindled the fire and struck up conversation with the boy.

"Can I still not know what you are called?" The boy dropped his smile and turned away.

"P-please…You're so nice. I don't want you to hate me like they do." Kaisa frowned and stirred the pot.

"I do not think I am like the villagers. You're seven years old. I doubt I could hate you for anything you could do." The boy reddened and tucked himself deeper into his sweater. Kaisa sighed.

"After breakfast, I will take you home. Is that ok?"

"I don't have a home." Kaisa sighed again.

"To where you usually stay?" The boy looked up at Kaisa with his violet eyes and Kaisa sighed again. Handing him his soup, The red head from Suna watched as the boy choked down the food like it was his last meal. After he was finished, Kaisa tidied the camp up, folding the tarp tightly and shoving it into a spare bag, when the boy piped up.

"Can I come with you?" Kaisa stopped, nearly dropping her armload. She studied the boy, and the determined look on his face slightly reminded her of Kouden when they were children. Carefully putting her possessions down, she knelt in front of the boy and put her hands on his skinny shoulders. Brushing his sky blue hair out of his face, Kaisa smiled kindly and said,

"Now why would you want to do that? I am sure someone here would miss you. And besides, where ever I go, there is danger and possibility of death. That is not the life for a growing young boy such as your self." The boy's lips quivered and tears welled up in his eyes.

"It's because I'm a monster, isn't it?" He mumbled. Kaisa's face showed confusion, and the boy pulled himself away from Kaisa.

"What..?" She asked, softly, as not to startle him. When the boy looked up again, his eyes were bleeding gold into the soft violet.

"It's because I'm a monster! That's what they named me, those people, Monster! Is that why you won't take me with you? Why? You showed me kindness, but you're really just like them!" Kaisa was frightened, but intrigued. She raised her hands in a calming gesture, but against better judgement, decided to probe into his problems. Sometimes her curiosity got the better of her.

"W-what do you mean, 'monster'?" She asked, and the boy snarled at her and ran into the woods.

"H-hey! Wait!" She called, chasing after him. Claw marks led the way, as she saw chunks of tree that had been ripped off. Excited almost, Kaisa came upon a clearing where the boy, his previously soft curled hair was ragged and dirty looking. His eyes were still a shining gold, now with slitted pupils, and his fingernails had grown into thin sharp claws. Something about the way that his face was being held, changed how he looked entirely. But the thing that Kaisa noticed the most was a long blue tail made completely of chakra swaying back and forth behind him, and the blazing white seal that was centered on his forehead, with swirling arms reaching out to his cheeks.

"You…you are a Jinchuuriki!" Kaisa exclaimed, all of her previous fear flooding right out of her body. All Kaisa could think of was her luck, now she would have more materials for her book.

**"You stink of tanuki, girl."** A two toned voice erupted out of the small boys lips, causing Kaisa to jump. Cautiously she stared at the boy, who was now down on all fours, with a second tail starting to bubble around the base of the boy's back.

"I-I…Yes… My father, he is-was, the container of Shukaku…" The boy laughed with his two toned voice, causing the hair on Kaisa's neck to raise.

"Wh-who am I talking to?" The laughter stopped and the boy took on a grin.

**"The Nekomata, daughter of tanuki."** Kaisa felt heat rise to her face with excitement. She was almost glad that Haneko had disabled her enough to have run into the boy.

"I thought you were killed alongside Nii Yuugito-san when Akatsuki attacked all those years ago." The Nekomata's double voice laughed again and said, harshly,

**"Pitiful, ignorant humans. When you kill a spirit lord, we replace them. I had only a few years of succession before a bumbling idiot caught me sleeping, and sealed me into this boy." **The boy paused, and seemed to smile sadly.

**"At first, I was angry that I had been caught, but after witnessing the constant abuse this poor boy suffered, I offer him, like now, a safe place to hide in his own soul."** Kaisa was quiet, not knowing how to respond.

**"You are looking for some nins, yes? Take the boy. He needs to experience love at least once in his life. I also grant him with excellent night vision and a decent sense of smell. He would make a great tracker. Take him and get him to aide you on your quest."** Kaisa frowned and took another step closer.

"Does he have a name?" The boy looked up at him. Kaisa noticed for the first time that the golden eyes held countless years of wisdom.

**"Sora."** Kaisa opened her mouth to speak, but instead rushed over to catch Sora's body as the Nekomata released her hold. Sora's eyes fluttered open and Kaisa cradled him in her arms.

"I-I'm sorry… Did I…hurt you?" Kaisa smiled and shook her head. Sora closed his eyes and cuddled close, Kaisa returning the favour stayed until he had cried himself to sleep before packing the rest of her possessions and taking the sleeping boy with her away from the rainy village.

* * *

The full week that it took Byakko and Haneko to reach Kusagakure, gave plenty of time for the two teens to bond. Waking up in each others arms, despite Haneko's embarrassed sputters of how it was to preserve warmth, had almost warranted no awkward moments anymore. Haneko regarded Byakko as a good friend, more, but her mind denied her body. She was a Hyuuga born and raised. She knew what a mission was, and what to avoid. As much as she wanted it, she knew that it would be easier on the both of them to ignore his advances. Besides, there was still his _beloved_ Idzuna. She had never even met the girl, and already she held her contempt, blaming her things on her from any situation from meeting an enemy, to stubbing her toe.

Byakko, on the other hand, was utterly confused. He really liked this girl. Really really liked her. He thought that depending on upcoming events, he could see himself spending quite a long time with her, and it scared him. Not enough to ward him away from her, although, he was pretty sure that was why the Hyuuga was trying to ignore his subtle flirts and suggestions. She was mostly likely scared of her father and of the feelings themselves. She had that innocent air about her when it came to him. One thing he could not figure out was why she was so bitter any time Idzuna was mentioned. He was almost afraid to bring her along to rescue the poor girl. Byakko resisted the urge to rub his head, where Idzuna was sure to hit him for one reason or another.

Intent on saving Idzuna and disappearing from Kusa as fast as possible, Byakko and Haneko didn't even bother checking in to an inn to store their possessions. They didn't have much on them anyway. Byakko charged down the large staircase that led to the underground part of Kusagakure, where most of the ninja and population lived.

"Do you know where she is being kept?" Haneko asked, leaning into Byakko's side as they made their way down the large spiral staircase that had been etched into the side of the ravine Kusagakure was located in. Byakko scanned the ravine, skipping over the bright neon signs and looking for the closest brothel.

"She's been sold to a brothel here. That I know. We just need to check them all." Haneko sighed quietly and nodded, separating from the young man.

"Check back here in 2 hours, and we'll see how much ground we can cover." The white haired boy said. Haneko nodded sharply and turned sharply away from the boy and strode down the first street she saw.

Byakko frowned as he left, but his attention was quickly drawn away by the mix of old fashioned signs mixed in with blinking signs. Fortunately, the first sign he saw was one pointing to a brothel. Byakko smirked, covering his chin better with his scarf.

The atmosphere of the place was dingy and dirty, and not at all out of place in the lower section of the underground city. The high end prostitutes were saved for the so called Emperor and his minions to dally with.

An woman whose face was covered in cheap makeup greeted him with a warm smile and empty eyes. Another woman, younger, probably younger than himself, came scurrying up to him, giving him suspicious glances.

"May I help you sir?" She asked politely. Byakko smiled, and said,

"I'm looking for a girl…" The young woman nodded.

"That's usually what our visitors want. Any girl in particular?" Byakko flushed the tinyest bit.

"No, no. I'm looking for a specific girl to talk to, not to… Well, she's about 14, has sandy brown hair and green eyes. Have you seen anyone around like that? She'd be in a brothel here somewhere in Kusa…" The girl was quiet for a minute before saying,

"I know of several girls like that… I can give you the directions to the places they are working. Is that ok?" Byakko gave her a smile and pressed some coins into her hand.

"That's perfect." The girl looked at the coinage in her hand and without blinking tucked them into her cheap and worn obi. Spinning on a heel, she shuffled down the hall, motioning for Byakko to follow her. After scribbling down the names of the brothels and rough directions to each of them, she shoved the paper into Byakko's hands and crossed her arms.

"That's all that I can think of in the lower city. I don't know about the golden land, I've never been there myself. If your little friend isn't in the lower city, she's probably in the golden land." The girl sighed and Byakko said,

"Golden land?" The girl looked at him. "A-ah, I'm not from around here." He quickly explained.

"Ah. Well, Kusagakure is split in two sections, the lower city and the golden land. Most of the villagers live in the lower city, along with most of the lower ranked ninja, like genin and chuunin. Most of the jounin, anbu, and the richer villagers live in the golden land. They say that the streets are made of gold up there…" The girl shook her head wistfully and continued.

"The Emperor lives there along with the imperial family and their servants. I heard it's very difficult to get into the golden land if you aren't a ninja, but even if you are I heard that it's still pretty hard." She paused, scoping Byakko up and down. "Well, good luck finding your girlfriend." Byakko clicked his tongue and left, heading towards the first name and place on the list the girl had scribbled out for him.

* * *

Haneko woke as the sun shone directly into her sensitive milky eyes. Groaning and covering her eyes with her arm, she bumped into Byakko, who was still fast asleep beside her. Haneko pushed down a blush, and dismayed at how keeping her face from filling with blood was getting easier and easier everyday. Making sure Byakko was still fast asleep, she quickly changed out of her pyjamas and into the turquoise tank top and sand coloured jeans she had recently purchased with the last of her spare change. Haneko smiled. It felt nice to be wearing something clean and different, for once.

It had been a week since she and Byakko had arrived in Kusagakure, and they had not found any sign of Idzuna, save a man who claimed that he had sold a fiery girl with green eyes to the Emperor himself. Byakko had smashed his face into his hands in frustration. The previous night, Haneko had blown all cover that they had and used her identity as a Hyuuga to get into the golden land. Something Naruto was sure to hear about.

Biting her lip, Haneko knew that they had to find this girl as fast as possible, and get out of Kusagakure, before her father sent someone to investigate. Byakko had told her that Kaisa was close by, probably already in the golden city and keeping an eye on them. Haneko could feel ticklings of Kaisa's chakra brushing the edges of her sensing abilities, and once again admired Byakko's chakra sensing abilities.

Shaking Byakko's shoulder, successfully waking him, Haneko said,

"I'm going to search now. I'll start near the palace and work my way down. I think I'm likely to find more information on… her if I search close to the palace. I'll meet you here in two hours." Byakko nodded sleepily, and Haneko made her way out of the building.

The palace was quite close, but a large crowd that filled the streets made her journey twice as long as it should have been. Blocking out the multiples whispers that jumbled around her, Haneko quickly slipped into the closest brothel to the palace she could see.

A man sat against the back wall, grimacing. Two women dressed in attire that was much richer than the lower part of the city were comforting him. The man let his head fall against the wall and asked Haneko, without even looking at her,

"I'm not accepting anymore girls. Not ever again." Haneko blinked.

"N-no… I'm looking for someone… She has brown hair and green eyes… if you've-" the man let out a laugh that made himself seem older than he looked, and a bit more insane than Haneko was comfortable with. The girls grimaced and looked at Haneko.

"That despicable girl. She's the ruin of me." Haneko frowned.

"What?" The old man coughed and pressed a hand to his stomach.

"I bought her because I needed something pretty to get back in the Emperor's favour, and what does she do?" The old man started coughing, and left his statement unfinished. Haneko hesitated.

"Where-" The old man pointed directly behind Haneko, cutting her off.

"She's probably still at the palace. Tell that little fox that she's responsible for my death." Haneko frowned as the two women fawned over him, reassuring him that he was not going to die.

Looking behind her, Haneko glanced up at the palace, not quite believing her luck.  
Or course, by the time she had slipped back onto the streets, the passage to the palace was so crowed, Haneko couldn't even budge her way through. Sighing in exasperation, the Hyuuga finally gave up and walked around, keeping a look out for a way she could get into the palace. She spotted an alley way that looked like it was close enough she could risk a jump over the wall, and started to head towards it, when she bumped into someone walking along the street.

The bump itself was not unusual. She had been bumped many times already today, and kept walking. It was when the person she bumped into grabbed her shoulder, that Haneko whirled around, sliding into the basic jyuuken stance. Once she saw who it was, she relaxed, but only slightly.

"Kaisa-ne-chan!" Kaisa has a determined look on her face as she pulled Haneko's shoulder into a nearby shop. Thankfully, due to everyone on the street, most places were empty, and Kaisa had a chance to talk.

"I'm not going home. I'm still on a mission." Haneko said firmly, just now noticing the little boy hiding behind Kaisa's back. His fingers were gripped firmly in Kaisa's black kimono top.

"I am not here to take you home…yet. I saw that you were trying to get into the palace… Do you know why the people are on the streets?" Haneko paused. In her rush to find Idzuna she hadn't even thought to ask.

"Uhh…" Kaisa shook her head.

"The Emporer was murdered an hour ago, a servant came screaming out of the palace announcing it to the inner city. They locked the doors, claiming that the murderer was still inside. I have been patrolling, and keeping an eye on you, of course." Haneko frowned.

"That's going to make my job a lot harder. My target was inside the palace." Kaisa pursed her lips.

"Listen, I'm meeting Byakko at the golden gates in…about an hour and a half. Can you meet us there? I really need to do this… If you see him before then, tell him that I found Idzuna." Kaisa barely had time to nod before Haneko slipped out the door.

Pushing through people to cross the street again towards the alley, Haneko almost screamed with relief when she could breath again. The alley was dark, dank, and pretty creepy. Not that it deterred her. Looking up at the end, she saw that she could climb one of the buildings, and the jump to the wall was only a few feet.

Although she was sure the guards had been doubled, and…ugh. This job was becoming harder and harder.

As Haneko squatted to think, she heard a scrabbling noise from above her. Looking up, a figure sailed down past her. Haneko automatically grabbed the figure and swung it around so that it landed abruptly, but without too much damage. The figure let out a surprised squeak, before quickly standing up and falling into a rough, but, as Haneko saw after a moment, a well used fighting stance.

In the dim light of the alley way, Haneko saw that the figure was a girl, about her height, wearing a ripped and tattered kimono. Her geta wearing feet clattered on the cobblestone as she moved them into a more precise stance. Her long sandy brown hair looked like it had been done up in an elaborate style, but half of it was hanging out, and the rest of it looked like it was barely hanging on. The green of her eyes pierced into Haneko's lavender irises and Haneko was hit with a sudden realization.

"I-Idzuna?" The girl looked startled, and her stance almost dropped. That action was all Haneko needed to prove the truth in her statement, and she rushed forward, tapping the tenketsu in her forehead that would shut her body down for a few minutes. Idzuna's body slumped, and Haneko quickly flipped her onto her shoulder.

Turning back into the crowd, she saw Kaisa and the boy, still clinging onto the back of her top, just starting to leave down the street. Haneko quickly caught up. Grabbing Kaisa's shirt, she ignored the stares she was getting.

"Plan changed, my target landed right into my lap… Quick, I know that you used something special to track Byakko, do you know where he is now?" Kaisa blinked and nodded, pointing in the direction the inn that they were staying at was. Haneko rolled her eyes at her lazy team-mate, and nodded.

"Quickly, quickly." She said shuffling as fast as her body would let her with the extra weight.

Byakko stretched and stepped out of the inn's door, only to be met face to face with a flustered Haneko, Kaisa, a strange little boy, and an unconscious girl on Haneko's shoulder. Byakko blinked, and Haneko dumped the girl into his arms.

"I found your Idzuna, now let's go. The Emperor was assassinated, and they are going to lock the gates down." Byakko nodded, and hefted Idzuna on to his back, studying the girls face. He noted a few bruises that were healing, and resolved to ask her questions when she woke.  
Luckily, the guards at the inner gates were so busy trying to prevent riots in the crowds, that they didn't notice the several groups of shady looking people leaving as quietly as possible. Haneko noted that most of them were Shinobi, and deduced that it was probably one of them that had done the killing.

Shaking the thought out of her head, Haneko just focused on her now activated Byakugan's abilities to get her little menagerie out of Kusagakure, and back on the road towards…where ever Byakko would say next.

* * *

End Chapter 14

* * *

Gahhh computer problems suck, but the random restarts seem to have died to minimum. Bad thing is I have a Trojan worm in my system32 file, so I'm going to have to reformat anyway, as that's the only way to fix it :I

But this means that I wont lose everything : ) ((by moving it onto another computer))

Mog


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

Chapter 15

Getting out of Kusagakure was a matter of timing. If they moved quickly enough, they would get there before the news had reached the lower city.

Fortunately, lady luck was on their side, and after a mad dash that left nearly everyone exhausted, the group finally rested once Kusagakure disappeared off of their line of sight.

Kaisa and the little boy with her made a quick camp, and a hot meal, as Haneko rested. She had used up most of her chakra to keep her eyes activated for that long, while running at top speed as well.

Byakko was just as exhausted, having to carry Idzuna on his back the entire time. Idzuna, on the other hand had woken briefly, but before she could do anything, Haneko had tapped her out again.

"No need for useless energy waste." She had explained breathlessly. Byakko just agreed, not really wanting to argue.

By the time Haneko opened her eyes, it was dark, and she realized that she had fallen asleep. They were in a different place from before, and a merry little fire crackled in front of her, giving off a pleasant warmth. Haneko sat up and looked around. Kaisa was reading a small novel, while stroking the sky blue hair of the boy who had fallen asleep with his head on her lap. Idzuna was sitting with her arms crossed and pouting, while Byakko sat beside her, poking the fire with a stick.

Both Byakko and Idzuna looked at her, and Haneko felt a terrible pang of jealousy and loss rip across her heart. She had rescued Idzuna, and in doing so, ruined any chance of her and Byakko.

Neither of them said anything, so Haneko decided to stay quiet. She moved to sit on a fallen log, and studied Idzuna from the corner of her eyes. Her sandy hair fell to mid-back length, and had a slight curl to it. Her face was oval, and she had a small, upturned nose. Her lips were cute and red, and her eyes were a deep green. Deeper even, than Sakura's back home.

A pang of homesickness added itself to the pain of losing Byakko, and Haneko moved to hug herself. What she would give to be listening to stories about her parents, or talking with Hiro, or even being annoyed at Ho. Tears welled up in Haneko's eyes, and before she could stop herself, they starting spilling over. Standing sharply, she quickly walked into the forest behind her, going far enough to be hidden from their view, but close enough she could still see the glow of the fire.

Sitting down at the base of a large maple tree, Haneko let all of her tears out, only making the occasional sniffling noise. She shifted her weight against the tree so that it didn't poke as much into the still large bruise that had reduced itself from the size of a dinner plate to the size of her fist. It had been two months since she had seen her family, and it was starting to really hit her.

A twig snapped behind her, and Haneko jumped. Byakko sat down beside her and put his arm around her waist, mindful of her bruises. He didn't say anything, but Haneko, after a moment, leaned into him and stifled her sobs. He was comforting and distressing at the same time.

After a while, a now scarfless Byakko finally said something, softly as not to startle the now scarfed Haneko.

"Care to share?" Haneko sighed.

"Can I go home? Do you really need me to go to wherever with you?" Byakko looked down at Haneko, frowning.

"Do I bother you?" Haneko didn't say anything, unsure of how to reply. Byakko took this as a yes, and said,

"How do I bother you? Is it something I said? Did? Is there any way I can fix it?" Haneko almost sneered in her head.

_You could dump Idzuna, for starters._

"You don't bother me. I'm just being homesick. Just ignore me, I can hold out for a while." She gave Byakko a weak smile that he saw through.

"I really like you, you know. I don't want you to hate me in anyway." Byakko said, and Haneko flushed intensely. She pulled away from Byakko, and scoured his face for any sign of lying. She watched as his ruby red eyes caught the firelight in the distance, and almost appeared to glow. She watched the wind catch pieces of his feathery white hair and toss them around his face. She studied his face like she had never done before, and when she was done, she realized how utterly in love with this person she was.

"Byakko…" She said, unsure of how to start the sentence that would distance herself from him, when Byakko moved, knocking her off balance. He steadied her with his hands, and pressed his lips down onto hers. Haneko stopped breathing. She resisted the urge to pull away long enough for her body to relax into the kiss, making it all the sweeter.

When Byakko finally pulled away, Haneko was flushed, and her chest felt tight. Byakko's face was an odd shade of red and he tried to avoid eye contact with the Hyuuga. Not able to contain herself any longer, Haneko sighed and said,

"What about Idzuna…?" Byakko blinked.

"What about her?" Haneko guffawed.

"So that's it. Once you get tired of a girl, you just jump on another girl and cast the old one out like garbage." She said angrily. Byakko's mouth opened.

"Wait, what? No-" Haneko cut him off, turning away from him.

"If you do this now, what about me? How long until I'm trash? Hmm Byakko? How long?" Byakko was so flustered, that he started to laugh. He laughed long and hard and only made Haneko angrier.

"I'm…I'm sorry" he said between lapses of laughter. "I just figured out why you've been acting like this around Idzuna-chan…" he laughed again, and Haneko turned redder, both from embarrassment and anger.

"Spit it out!" She spat at him. Byakko coughed, and tried to keep a straight face.

"Idzuna-chan… Haneko, she's my little sister." He started laughing again, and Haneko let her mouth drop.

"Oh…" was all she could say. Her mind was running a million miles per hour, and now that she thought about it, the look of love and adoration on his face when he mentioned the girl was the same one that her mother held for Neji, and the same one that Sara held for Osshi.

Haneko pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face into her arms. She'd never live this one down. After Byakko had finally stopped laughing, he gently put his hand on Haneko's arm and said,

"I'm sorry. I thought I had mentioned it earlier. It was totally my fault. Are we good now?" Haneko smiled weakly and wrapped her arms around Byakko, pulling him close. Byakko grinned and hugged her back. It was a sweet moment, one that Haneko didn't want to end. That is, until Haneko's stomach started to growl. Haneko pulled away and put a hand on her stomach.

"Ugh…I'm hungry." Byakko smiled and said,

"Lets get some food, and I'll put the rest of that ointment on your back. I noticed that it still hurts you." Haneko nodded and let Byakko pull her up, and together they walked, hand in hand back to the camp.

* * *

Kaisa watched the two teenagers come back to camp hand in hand, and mentally rubbed her forehead. This is it. They are together, and it's going to be even harder for her to finish her mission. Still stroking Sora's hair, She put her novel down and waited until Haneko and Byakko sat together on the fallen log that Haneko had been sleeping by.

"So, Byakko-san. Where is it that we're going?" Byakko gazed over at Kaisa.

"Waterfall. That's where I'm from. We can go to Takigakure and drop Idzuna-chan off with our parents. From there, you can do what you want." Byakko hid the sadness in his voice well, but not well enough to prevent Kaisa from hearing it. She nodded and glanced over at Haneko, who was obviously very interested in Sora.

"Who is that?" She said bluntly and Kaisa smiled down at the boy.

"He is an orphan. I met him in Amegakure, and after a few events, decided to take him in as my own." Haneko frowned.

"How old is he?" Kaisa's smile dropped a fraction as she said,

"He is seven years old." Haneko was a bit sceptical.

"Kaisa-ne-chan, this is a bit far for you. You're only 18. What's your father going to think, honestly." Kaisa scoffed, and before she could reply, Byakko said, quietly,

"She's only 18? I thought she was way older!" Kaisa frowned.

"What does it matter how old I am? I am more than responsible and mature enough to take in a child. As for my father, he will have to learn to accept the fact that he has a grandson. I promised the…someone that I would take Sora in and love him like my own, and I do not go back on my words." Haneko sensed the underlying anger in her words and dropped the subject.

"Well…He's cute. I'll give you that." Kaisa paused before smiling.

"So, Byakko, how did your sister here end up in a brothel in Iwa, anyway?" Idzuna stood up stiff and Byakko hesitated.

"It was a mission, to be honest. I was supposed to infiltrate Iwa and become an outstanding shinobi of Iwa, all while collecting and destroying any and all information on a few people that had defected to Takigakure. I was also to assist Idzuna's mission, but it didn't go as planned, and happened a bit too early." Idzuna scoffed.  
"Ni-san, I had everything under control. I would have gotten away a lot faster if _someone_ hadn't knocked me out with her magic voodoo fingers. Honestly." Haneko was taken aback. This girl had a mouth on her.

"I'll have you know that that was jyuuken, and all I did was push chakra into the tenketsu that controls consciousness. It's simple. Even people without the byakugan can learn it…although it's very, very hard to do with out the our eyes." Idzuna dropped her angry expression, and peered closer at Haneko.

"Ohh, Shirogan, right? I thought you were blind. Weird." Haneko frowned, and felt herself still disliking the girl, despite the hate that she had dropped in the woods.

"Idzuna-chan!" Byakko snapped. Idzuna shut her mouth sharply, clicking her jaw.

"I'm sorry, she's a little rude sometimes. And Idzuna, her eyes are called Byakugan, and they are _not_ weird, they are amazing." Haneko blushed a bit, but kept it down when she saw Kaisa barely keep her eyes from rolling.

Silence fell over the camp once more, as Haneko watched the stew pot heat up. Kaisa was reading again, and Idzuna had borrowed another little pocket novel off of Kaisa. Byakko was staring at the fire, fiddling with Haneko's fingers. Haneko sighed and said out loud, although not expecting an answer,

"I wonder what happened to the Emperor." Byakko didn't say anything, neither did Kaisa, but Idzuna piped up.

"I broke his neck, and then snuck out of the palace. Simple. I achieved my mission, and when I get home, I'll be rewarded handsomely." Haneko choked on her own breath.

"What?" Idzuna lazily looked over at Haneko and said, snobbishly,

"I sold myself to the brothel in Iwa, because there was a man who was also in on the job, who was supposed to buy me and bring me to Kusagakure. While Ni-san was out on a mission, the man showed up, two weeks earlier than expected, and said that his family had been murdered, and he was pulling out. I didn't have enough money to buy out myself, so I hitched onto the first buyer from Kusagakure. He took me there, and I worked my way up from the lower city to the golden land, where a horrible little man tried to parade me half naked all the time, so I made his life hell. I eventually caught the eye of one of the Emperor's right hand men, and he bought me, hoping to present me as a gift. The gift part went well, and the first night he tried to get close to me, I snapped his neck. He wasn't even a shinobi. I know baby genin back in Taki that could beat him." Idzuna pursed her lips, and Haneko was speechless. It wasn't until now did she realize how sheltered her life was.

"Wow. You sound real pro, girl. I've only killed once. Granted, my father _is_ the Hokage." Idzuna choked. Looking over at Byakko, she said,

"You kidnapped the Hokage's daughter? Are you insane? How are you not dead?" Byakko grinned and shrugged. Kaisa glanced up from her book at Haneko.

"Hmm, Haneko. Your father has nothing to do with killing. I killed my first enemy at the age of 8, and my father is the Kazekage." Byakko glanced over at Kaisa. That was something new. Haneko just waved Kaisa off, and lifted the pot to the stew.

"Ahh~! It's done! Finally!"

* * *

End Chapter 15

It's a bit short, but I had nothing to add that could make it longer. The next scene I want to do is best left for another chapter. I hope you enjoyed the emo/sap/fluff!

And Lol! What? Two chapters in one day? SILLY MOG, THAT COULD NEVER HAPPEN.

Mog ;D


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

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When the small group of travelers finally reached the giant waterfall, they were all tired and cranky. It had taken three weeks to manoeuvre around the large forests and mountains that surrounded the countryside.

Byakko and Idzuna both smiled lightly at the prospect of finally coming home. They both led the way, stepping through the waterfall in a thin place that was hidden from the outside. Turning back to the group Byakko put his hands on his hips and said,

"I hope you can swim." Haneko blinked and Idzuna and Byakko both dove into a small pool of water. Haneko was soon to follow, and was quickly followed herself by Kaisa and Sora. Haneko's lungs were burning and her eyes were showing explosions of colours that usually appeared before one would pass out before they finally surfaced. Byakko helped Haneko up, and Idzuna helped Sora up and out. Kaisa shook herself off with a small look of disgust. She hated water, and it was only due to Kouden's crash courses in swimming in the pond in Konoha, that she had even bothered to learn.

When Haneko finally got her breath back, she stood and looked around, amazed at what she saw. There was an enormous tree right in the middle of the large lake she had just gotten out from. The village itself was smaller than she had thought. The houses were made of mostly wood, and a few newer ones looking a lot like houses in Konoha. A sudden spike of chakra snapped her attention away from the scenery, and a root snaked it's way up and around Haneko's arms. She cried out in surprised along with Idzuna and Sora. Byakko remained silent as well as Kaisa.

"Who are you to enter Takigakure?" The owner of the voice was a man who stood just as tall, if not taller than Naruto. He had black hair and green eyes, and a scraggy beard decorated his chin. His hiteate was tied around his forehead, and kept the loose strands of his hair out of his eyes. Byakko raised his head and said,

"I am Taki no Byakko, Chuunin of Takigakure. I have in accompany with me, Taki no Idzuna, Chuunin of Takigakure, Konoha no Haneko, Chuunin of Konohagakure, Suna no Kaisa, Special Jounin of Sunagakure, and her son, Suna no Sora, not of shinobi status." The man held Byakko's defiant gaze for a few moments, and Haneko became nervous that they wouldn't be let go. When the man's face broke out into a wide smile and the roots let go of the group, Haneko's heart stopped pounding so hard. He enveloped Byakko in a man-hug, which consisted of grasping hands and patting backs while laughing at nothing.

"Aah, sorry. This is Shinzui Nue-sensei. He was my and Idzuna's sensei when we were genin. He's also the current Hero of the village." Byakko finished the sentence with pride, and Haneko smiled slightly. Idzuna crashed into Nue's waist giving him a monstrous hug.

"Ahh, I was expecting you guys a lot sooner. And with less bounty on your heads." Both Byakko and Idzuna wilted under his disapproving stare.

"Well, At least you're alive, and that's the best thing. Now, let's go meet the elders. They want to hear your report, and give your guests passes. I assume they are here to defect?" Haneko blinked.

"Aa-h, no. We are on a mission, Shinzui-san…" Haneko piped up. Nue's brow shot up, but not other emotion was present on his face.

"A mission huh? Say, girl, are you a Hyuuga?" Haneko blinked again, sometimes her eyes were a curse. She nodded her head and he gave a bit a mischievous grin.

"Ahaa. You are being looked for dead hard. There are notices sent out everywhere. I'm actually surprised that no one has caught you and returned to your daddy." Haneko frowned and Byakko stepped in front of her, separating her from Nue.

"Sensei stop. Not right now." Nue rolled his eyes and led them to the main council rooms. The elders were not really elders. They appeared to be men and women all middle aged. One man in particular was staring at Byakko and Idzuna hard. He had sandy hair that was only a few shades browner than Idzuna's.

"Byakko, Idzuna, welcome back. We are all glad that you two are in one piece. Welcome guests of Taki. We will deal with you in a moment, but please, this is Taki business. Could you wait outside?" One of the older elder's asked. Everyone nodded and Haneko squeezed Byakko's hand quickly, noticing the focused look from the sand-haired man.

* * *

Outside the room, Nue was waiting to show them where they could sit. Haneko sat beside Sora, absent mindedly patting his blue curls. Kaisa sat a few feet away from them on the other side of the bench and tried to think of what would happen next, when Nue sat down beside her.

"So, how's it?" Kaisa blinked.

"Fine, I suppose, given the situation." Nue smiled and said,

"I'm sorry, I have terrible memory. What was your name again?" His smile was steady and Kaisa found that it made blood rush to her face.

"I-I am Sabaku no Kaisa. That boy over there is my son, Sora." Nue nodded, moving his mouth into something more thoughtful looking. Kaisa couldn't figure out why she kept looking at his mouth though.

"Sea Sand of the Dessert. What an ironic and beautiful name. Matches the lady who owns it." Nue finished with a wink, and Kaisa's entire face lit up like a tomato. She covered her face with her hands and Nue laughed. Sora looked over questioningly, but didn't say anything. Haneko was still focused on the door patting the young boy's head.

"Sh-Shinzui-san, please." Kaisa managed to get out. Her throat felt tight. Maybe she was coming down with a cold from being in so much water? Nue laughed again and Sora carefully made his way over to hide his face in Kaisa's black sleeve. Nue regarded the boy for a minute, before smiling and patting his head. Sora blushed and hid his face, imitating his mother. Once Kaisa's face was under control, she pulled Sora onto her lap and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So, may I ask who the lucky man is?" Nue said. Kaisa, without hesitating, said,

"There is none. There never was one." Nue frowned.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't…" Kaisa shook her head, effectively dropping the subject. Nue was about to open his mouth again, when the doors opened and Byakko and his sister stepped out. Byakko smiled at Haneko, who had jumped up to greet him. Handing Haneko and Kaisa each a pass, he said,

"Here, keep these displayed, and you won't be stopped by the guards and shinobi of this place. There isn't anyway that you can't go, except that climbing the great tree is forbidden." Haneko nodded and pinned the tag to her breast, whereas Kaisa pinned hers to her sash. There was an awkward silence before Idzuna piped up.

"Well, I received my pay. I'm going home. Thanks for all the help on the mission, I'm grateful." Haneko smiled somewhat tightly. She rather liked the girl, now that she knew she was Byakko's sister, not lover, but the weeks of mental anguish she had gone through not knowing this was enough to damper their relationship. Idzuna quickly departed, and Byakko grabbed Haneko's hand, pulling her away from the other three, and turned towards the village.

"C'mon, I'll take you to dinner before I introduce you to my parents." Haneko stumbled as he pulled her along.

"A-ah-ano, don't the elders have to hear why I'm here?" Byakko glanced at her briefly.

"I hired you, so I debriefed them. In fact, I actually owe you half my pay for this mission." Byakko said flatly, and Haneko giggled.

When they finally stopped, or more when Byakko finally stopped dragging Haneko through the dust, they had arrived at a small café. Stepping inside, the interior struck the Hyuuga as plain, but cozy. Byakko rubbed his hands and led Haneko to a table.

"This is good. Father never comes around this area of the village. He'll never find me here." Haneko frowned.

"Why… Why are you so afraid of your father?" Byakko looked at Haneko's worried face. He waved his hand, not relieving her in the least.

"A-ah, no reason. He just seemed particularly grumpy today." Haneko blinked again, and was about to ask Byakko when he had time to slip away and talk to his father, when a petit waitress came over to take their orders. She gazed at Haneko a little too long for her comfort before turning to give her paper to the kitchen staff.

"Byakko-kun, why is everyone staring at me?" The boy shrugged nervously.

"We don't get many newcomers to the village." Haneko knew he was lying, she could see it in the way he reacted, but decided to let it lie… for now. The wait for the food the young couple ordered was a silent one. Neither felt very hungry anymore, nor, apparently, very talkative.

Byakko made himself look busy by studying the curtains, and Haneko made herself busy with studying Byakko's face. She was absorbing every detail of his face, amplified by the tiny amount of chakra unconsciously gathering around her eyes. When Byakko's face went from nervous to bloodless, her breath caught.

"Shit! Duck!" Haneko's mouth fell open as her body did nothing. Byakko ducked his face down, smacking his forehead on the table, temporarily stunning himself. Haneko looked around her shoulder and started. A short woman with vivid red hair the same colour as Haneko's stood behind her. Her hands were on her hips, and she looked angry. Very angry. Needle sharp doses of killing intent were being shot at Byakko, and Haneko shuddered, being scraped by a few of them.

Byakko lifted his head slowly, blinking blearily. When he saw the woman, he blanched again and tried to escape out of the open window behind him. The woman, an experienced shinobi, as Haneko had deduced by the way she had moved, grabbed Byakko by his scarf and yanked, hard. Byakko choked and fell backwards smashing the back of the chair he had been sitting on to pieces.

By this time, Haneko reasoned than they were being attacked, and booked it out of the café, only to run into someone just outside the door. The impact of the collision knocked the air out of her lungs. Falling to her knees, she coughed and tried to inhale. Looking up she saw, to her horror, the woman who had attacked Byakko had taken her body tackle and had not even budged.

_She's so fast!_ Haneko thought, glancing over to Byakko, who was red in the face from choking, and tangled up in his scarf. The waitress who had served them was frowning. She was not happy. This was the 4th shinobi fight this week. At this rate, she might as well open a fighting ring, and serve coffee as a secondary attraction. Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she pulled out her thick and bulging book of shinobi related expenses.

Before Haneko could catch her breath enough to escape, the woman chopped the back of her neck with her hand, and Haneko was knocked unconscious. Byakko tried to shout dizzily, but his scarf also acted as a gag, muffling his sounds. He watched helplessly as the woman tossed Haneko over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, advancing on him before pulling him up and dragging him down the street by his ear.

Civilians on the streets ushered their children out of the mad woman's way with only half a mind, not even registering that she had two captives, one unconscious. The shinobi, on the other hand, were laughing. Byakko's face turned as red as his scarf and he tried to withdraw into himself. He moaned to himself and let the woman lead him to where ever she was taking them.

* * *

Kaisa watched intently as Byakko pulled Haneko out of her sight. It took all of her self restraint not to chase after her…again. Nue watched the couple leave nonchalantly before focusing on Kaisa.

"It's ok, you know. He's a good kid. He won't hurt her." Kaisa turned to face Nue and pursed her lips.

"It is not the first time he has taken her away like that. And I take it you did not notice the large bruise that was on her face? It is almost gone, but a month ago it was fresh, and nasty. I am sure she has more all over her body, but whenever I tried to converse with her about this she would change the subject. I very well suspect that that boy had something to do with it. I just… I have a bad feeling." Nue gave her a reassuring smile, which contrary to Kaisa's constant worrying, actually helped her relax a tad.

Almost desperate to change the subject and the gloom that Kaisa had inadvertently created in the atmosphere, Nue reached out and patted Sora's head.

"Hey, this kid looks like he's starving, why don't we hit up a food stand, maybe some takoyaki? I know a damn good stand that's right near here." Kaisa stared at Nue questioningly for a moment before saying,

"And by 'hit up' you mean 'go to', am I correct?" Nue gave a nervous little laugh and nodded. Kaisa gave him a rare smile and stood up, rubbing Sora's shoulders comfortingly. Nue grinned widely and bent over, lowering himself to Sora's face level. Flashing the boy a winning grin, he said,

"Hey, wanna shoulder ride? It'll be fun!" Sora shied away into Kaisa's still-damp skirt. Kaisa put her hand on his head and Sora looked up.

"You can go if you would like to, or you can say no. It's all up to you, Sora-chan." Sora looked down again and gave a tiny little smile. He nodded shyly, and with a whoop from Nue (and a little scream from Sora) he was up on the man's shoulders and looking at the world from an entirely different perspective.

The entire way to the food stand Sora was talking and pointing at things excitedly, talking more than Kaisa had heard him talk since the first little while after they met, when she felt that talking would help bond them. It seemed that a village where no one looked at him with anything other than a passing interest in a cute little boy who was pointing at things was a major boost for his mood.

* * *

An hour later, Shinzui Nue gawked at his empty wallet, and the 20 some-odd empty sticks of what used to be excellent takoyaki as he dumped the handful in his wallet. He himself had eaten three, so as not to be a pig in front of his new lady-friend, and Kaisa had eaten most of one, not really liking octopus, and the tiny little boy who looked like he could barely _lift_ one had shoved over 15 down his throat. Nue had lost count after 10. Kaisa apologized, and tried to pay, but Nue had intercepted her, not expecting the size of the bill.

When the sun had started to set, the newly formed trio were walking along the shore of the large lake that took up most of Takigakure. Well, Kaisa and Nue were walking, Sora was chasing ducks, and occasionally, getting chased by them in return.

"So where are you guys staying?" Kaisa smiled at Sora as he scared a small flock of ducks, only to have them turn around and ambush him. She turned to Nue, still smiling and said,

"I do not know yet. I was planning on just renting out a room at an inn for the night and then see what was happening with Haneko-chan tomorrow." The back of Kaisa's mind registered that Haneko was still in the city, and somewhere east of her current position. It was enough to comfort the red head for now. Nue nodded thoughtfully.

"You should stay at my place. I have plenty of room and no one to share it with!" He gave Kaisa a thumbs up and Kaisa nodded.

"It seems like Sora-chan has taken a liking to you, I am sure he would be thrilled to spend more time with you." Nue rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and mumbled something about being good with kids. Kaisa was about to thank the taller man for his hospitality when she realized that she had just agreed to spend the night at a strange man's home. Her face started to light up, and Kaisa focused her vision on her son. What was wrong with her? She had never had so much blood rush to her face in her life before. It was possible she was sick, with the stress of this mission and the water especially.

"Why are you blushing?" Nue asked causally, not facing her directly, but instead facing Sora, and glancing over at her. Kaisa blinked a few times in surprise.

"B-blush? I am not blushing! I think I may be coming down with an illness from travelling and from the water." Blushing? How ridiculous. Kaisa had never blushed in her life, not even when a 21 year old Kouden had stolen her first kiss when she was 11. No, her face had been red from anger as Sasami had laughed at her.

"Well, we had better get you two home and in bed then, eh? Before your boy catches a cold too." Kaisa blushed again, this time catching the small innuendo, even if it was unintended. Or so she hoped. She nodded and called a now soaking wet Sora, and they left with Nue for what would hopefully be a warm couch and blankets for the night.

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Chapter 16 END

I'm sorry D'; It's all I can really say. I can tell you that this is probably an older message by the time you read it. I had to move back in with my parents for an undisclosed amount of time, and this particular computer refuses to get internet for more than five minutes a day. So if this is posted anytime before march, you had better be glad that I was so lucky ;D

Oh man, I miss cliff hangers. What the hell happened to Byakko and Haneko? Holy crap why is Mog introducing a character to close to the end of the story? And Lol, embarrassing Kaisa is so fun! Thank you everyone for all the reviews I've been getting on all my other stories as well as this one. It keeps me writing even when I don't have internet D'''''''''''''''''':

Love you guys, seriously *hugs*

UPDATE: I have interbutts now. Everythings good, expect an update that doesnt take months and months : )

Mog


	17. AN

Ugh, guys, sorry to say, I can't finish this story. I've lost all interest in it, and it definitely didn't turn out to be the cool ass story I had planned in my head.

So, I've got two options for you guys,

I can post a summary of what was going to happen, or you guys can finish it, and I'll link any and all of them in this chapter, provided that you link me in a review or pm or something.

I'll count votes in like, a week I guess.

Sorry guys, this story is really starting to suck, IMO :I

I'm NOT however, giving up Unarranged Arrangments, It's just taking me a while, and I'm def. not giving up History Isn't Always.

Sorry for any and all fans, I love each and everyone of you 3

Mog


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